Section 348 BNSS | Power To Recall Witness Should Not Be Used To Confer Second Innings To Negligent Litigant: Madras High Court

The Madras High Court recently held that the power of a trial court to recall a witness under Section 348 of the BNSS [corresponding to Section 311 of the CrPC] cannot be used to give a second chance to a negligent litigant to improve their case at the end of the trial. [2026 LiveLaw (Mad) 275] Justice Victoria Gowri observed that the criminal trial was not a game of strategy between...

Law Doesn't Require Eyewitnesses To Sign Inquest Report; Testimony Unaffected If Their Names Absent From Police Papers: Allahabad High Court

The Allahabad High Court recently affirmed the life imprisonment of a man convicted of a brutal daylight murder in 1998, as it clarified that the testimony of a credible eyewitness cannot be discarded merely because they did not sign the inquest report and other police papers, including spot recovery memos. A bench of Justice Salil Kumar Rai and Justice Ajay Kumar-II added that there...

Supreme Court Stays Order Granting Rs. 10 Lakh Compensation To Man Illegally Arrested By UP Police

The Supreme Court on Monday (June 22) stayed the Allahabad High Court's order which had directed the State Government to make a payment of Rs. 10 lakhs as compensation to a man for over three months' illegal detention after illegal arrest.A Bench of Justice Prashant Kumar Mishra and Justice Sanjeev Sachdeva was hearing the State's appeal challenging the High Court's decision on the limited...

Navigating Statutory Silences: A Closer Look At Justiciability Of Self-subscribed Procedure In Criminal Law

The Indian legal landscape is seldom an exception to the regulatory overreach done in the name of procedure. Nevertheless, when such procedure is voluntarily adopted, it ought to align with the tenets of law. This is an analyses of a recent order passed by the Madras High Court in M/s. Jks Constructions Private Limited v The Assistant Registrar of Companies (2026)[1] and poses a pertinent question before us: When a regulatory authority adopts a procedure not mandated by law, how far can that...

Police Must Electronically Inform Jurisdictional Court Of Date, Time & Place Of Out-Of-State Arrest Without Warrant: Orissa High Court

The Orissa High Court has held that whenever a person is arrested without warrant outside the State, the arresting officer must immediately inform the jurisdictional court of the date, time and place of arrest through electronic means, including e-mail. [2026 LiveLaw (Ori) 61]Issuing a slew of guidelines to ensure fairness in arrests made outside the jurisdiction of the court,...

Oral Statements U/S 200 & 202 CrPC Can't Cure Material Omissions In Protest Petition, Rendering Allegations Doubtful: Allahabad HC

In a significant order on the scope of inquiries by a Magistrate under Sections 200 and 202 CrPC, the Allahabad High Court has held that material facts omitted from the protest petition cannot ordinarily be supplied later through oral statements of the complainant and witnesses. The bench added that the introduction of such facts for the first time during the inquiry/examination by...

S. 457 CrPC | Magistrate Can't Unilaterally Cancel Interim Release Of Seized Property Without Giving Opportunity Of Hearing: Orissa High Court

The Orissa High Court has held that a Magistrate cannot unilaterally cancel/recall his previous order under Section 457 CrPC granting interim release/zima of a seized property in favour of a party, without affording an opportunity of hearing to the zimadar, except in case of violation of conditions of such release. [2026 LiveLaw (Ori) 60]A Bench of Dr. Justice Sanjeeb Kumar Panigrahi was of...

Dowry Deaths : How Supreme Court Has Repeatedly Raised Concerns Over Continuing Dowry Menace

The death of Twisha Sharma in Bhopal, which prompted the Supreme Court to initiate suo motu cognisance of allegations of institutional bias and procedural lapses and a CBI investigation, and the death of Deepika Nagar in Greater Noida amid allegations of dowry harassment have once again brought public attention to the issue of deaths of married women in their matrimonial homes.Even...

Failure To Check Police Brutality Could Make It 'Like Nazi Germany': Patna HC Orders FIR Against SHO For Alleged Custodial Torture

The Patna High Court has directed registration of an FIR against a Station House Officer accused of brutally assaulting a man and allegedly breaking both his legs, holding that referring the victim to the Magistrate under Section 156(3) CrPC at this stage would amount to “further injustice” and warning that unchecked police brutality could make the national police “like one of...

Warning Against Filing Frivolous Petitions Doesn't Make Interlocutory Order Revisable: Orissa High Court

The Orissa High Court has held that the cautionary observation of a Magistrate, while rejecting a plea seeking cancellation of bail, asking parties not to file “frivolous and vexatious petitions in future” is interlocutory in nature, which cannot be challenged in revision under Section 397 of the Code of Criminal Procedure (CrPC). [2026 LiveLaw (Ori) 58]Reversing the findings of the...

'Judicial Orders Not Being Given Importance': Orissa High Court Raps Police Over 8-Month Delay In FIR Registration Despite Magistrate's Order

The Orissa High Court has expressed disappointment over lackadaisical attitude of police resulting in eight-months delay in registration of FIR despite Magisterial order in a case concerning financial exploitation of an elderly woman from the Scheduled Caste community. [2026 LiveLaw (Ori) 57]Dismissing the explanation furnished by the concerned Inspector-In-Charge (IIC), the Bench of...

Can Bail Granted for Bailable Offences Be Cancelled If Graver Non‑bailable Offences Are Later Added: Rajasthan High Court Decides

The Rajasthan High Court has held that benefit of bail granted to an accused under bailable offences cannot continue and stands cancelled on addition of a graver, non-bailable offence. [2026 LiveLaw (Raj) 247]The bench of Justice Anoop Kumar Dhand was hearing a petition challenging order of the SC/ST Special Judge that cancelled the bail granted to the petitioner on account of addition...