(661) PUSHPENDRA Vs. STATE OF U.P.[ALLAHABAD HIGH COURT] 24-09-2026 Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, 2023 — Sections 80 and 85 — Meaning of "Husband" — Validity of divorce — Determination in criminal proceedings — Deceased separated from first husband via notarised compromise and cohabited with applicant as spouse under agreement — Applicant argued he was merely a live-in partner — Held, criminal courts cannot adjudicate the validity of customary divorce, which pertains to competent civil courts — Where parties cohabit as husband and wife with clear marital intent, the India Law Library Docid # 2453824
(662) CHOTU VERMA Vs. STATE OF U.P.[ALLAHABAD HIGH COURT] 24-09-2026 Indian Evidence Act, 1872 — Section 27 — Discovery of fact based on information received from accused — Essential requirements — Prosecution must establish that information emanated from accused while in police custody and led directly to discovery — Investigating Officer admitted the alleged murder weapon (axe) was produced by another witness and not discovered pursuant to any disclosure statement made by the appellant — Mere presence of human blood does not dispense with the statutory requirem India Law Library Docid # 2453825
(663) SUDHA AGARWAL Vs. STATE OF U.P. THRU. ADDL. CHIEF SECY. FOOD AND CIVIL SUPPLY, U.P. LUCKNOW AND OTHERS[ALLAHABAD HIGH COURT (LUCKNOW BENCH)] 24-09-2026 Administrative Law — Rent fixation for private godowns leased to State — Applicability of Government Order — Principle that what cannot be done directly cannot be done indirectly — Department leased petitioner's godowns in 2003 and 2006 — Subsequent Government Order dated 02.05.2018 capped rent enhancement at 20% for tenancies from 14.07.2015 — Respondents held the 2018 Order inapplicable to petitioner's pre-2015 tenancies, yet recalled the 2017 justification certificate and restricted rent to R India Law Library Docid # 2453826
(664) T.M.ISRAEL Vs. THE STATE OF KERALA[KERALA HIGH COURT] 24-09-2026 Kerala Revenue Recovery Act, 1968 — Pre-requisites for recovery — Necessity of prior adjudication — Summary execution mechanism — Revenue recovery proceedings were initiated against a retired Panchayat Secretary 16 years after retirement without prior notice or adjudication of liability — Held, Kerala Revenue Recovery Act does not create any new substantive rights, but merely provides a summary mechanism for recovering amounts legally due and already quantified — Revenue authority is not a compe India Law Library Docid # 2454241
(665) FORUM PROJECTS PRIVATE LIMITED Vs. GAURAV KARNANI AND OTHERS[CALCUTTA HIGH COURT] 24-09-2026 Arbitration and Conciliation Act, 1996 — Sections 16, 17 and 37 — Interim measures pending decision on jurisdiction — Appellant challenged an order under Section 17 appointing a surveyor and restraining alteration of common areas, arguing that preliminary objections to arbitrability must be decided first under Section 16 — Held, Section 16 and Section 17 operate in distinct spheres — The Act does not mandate deciding jurisdictional objections before granting interim protection — Insisting on pri India Law Library Docid # 2454320
(666) MRINMOY HALDER Vs. THE STATE OF WEST BENGAL[CALCUTTA HIGH COURT] 24-09-2026 Protection of Children from Sexual Offences Act, 2012 — Sections 3, 5, 6 and 29 — Penal Code, 1860 (IPC) — Section 376(2)(i) — Statutory presumption of guilt — Foundational facts — Standard of proof — Presumption under Section 29 is not automatic and requires prosecution to first establish foundational facts through cogent and reliable evidence — Foundational facts established where victim was proved below twelve years of age, appellant had regular access to the household, victim gave consistent India Law Library Docid # 2454333
(667) LIKHA RAJNIK Vs. THE STATE OF AP AND OTHERS[GAUHATI HIGH COURT] 24-09-2026 Constitution of India, 1950 — Seventh Schedule, List I Entry 40, List II Entry 34 — Lotteries (Regulation) Act, 1998 — Private lotteries — Legislative Competence — Petitioner sought implementation of Lotteries (Regulation) Act, 1998 against private lucky draws and gift coupons — Held, Lotteries (Regulation) Act, 1998 governs lotteries organized by Central or State Governments under Entry 40 of List I, not local lotteries conducted by private individuals — Private lotteries are a species of betti India Law Library Docid # 2454371
(668) MAHENDRA RAM Vs. THE STATE OF BIHAR[PATNA HIGH COURT] 24-09-2026 Service Law — Disciplinary Proceedings — Inordinate and Unexplained Delay — Prejudice to Employee — Departmental proceeding initiated against the petitioner in 2019 remained inconclusive for nearly seven years without a final order, even after his retirement in 2020 — Enquiry officer found the primary charge of illegal withdrawal unproved against him — Unexplained, abnormal delay not attributable to the delinquent employee causes immense prejudice, monetary loss, and mental agony — Prolonged pen India Law Library Docid # 2454395
(669) SHARGUN KUMAR Vs. THE STATE OF BIHAR[PATNA HIGH COURT] 24-09-2026 Service Law — Departmental Enquiry — Dismissal from service — Allegation of alcohol consumption and desertion of duty — Proof of documentary evidence — Medical report and FIR relied upon without examining the treating doctor or author of the FIR — Held, in absence of oral examination of the author, contents of documents cannot be proved ipse dixit — Mere tendering of document does not prove its contents — Neither breath analyzer nor blood or urine test conducted — Finding of guilt for consuming India Law Library Docid # 2454399
(670) MD. SHAHID ALI Vs. THE STATE OF BIHAR[PATNA HIGH COURT] 24-09-2026 Juvenile Justice (Care and Protection of Children) Act — Section 4(iii) — Disqualification for selection as Member of Juvenile Justice Board — Scope of removal or dismissal from service — Petitioner was selected as a Member of the Juvenile Justice Board, Patna — Authority cancelled his appointment alleging he was removed from his earlier post of case worker — Record established that petitioner had tendered his resignation prior to joining, which was accepted without adverse comment — Held, volun India Law Library Docid # 2454404
(671) RAJESH KUMAR SINHA Vs. THE STATE OF BIHAR[PATNA HIGH COURT] 24-09-2026 Bihar Industrial Area Development Authority — Cancellation and Resumption of Allotment — Breach of undertaking given to Court — Allotment restored to petitioner by Division Bench based on explicit undertaking to commence commercial production within stipulated period, failing which authority was entitled to resume possession — Unit remained locked and non-operational upon subsequent inspection — Held, presence of machinery, technical snags, or financial investments do not satisfy undertaking to India Law Library Docid # 2454405
(672) CHANDRASHEKHAR KUMAR AND OTHERS Vs. THE STATE OF BIHAR AND OTHERS[PATNA HIGH COURT] 24-09-2026 Service Law — Regular Selection — Weightage for Contractual Work Experience — Bihar Technical Service Commission Advertisement No. 03 of 2021 — Clause 3(ii) — Petitioners sought direction to grant weightage for work experience gained as contractual employees in agriculture and fisheries sector for selection to the post of Fishery Development Officer — State Government Resolution Memo No. 1003 dated 22.01.2021 governs weightage for regular appointments — Held, preference or weightage for past con India Law Library Docid # 2454407
(673) THE STATE OF BIHAR Vs. LAFJARUL @ MITHU RAHMAN[PATNA HIGH COURT] 24-09-2026 Penal Code, 1860 (IPC) — Section 376 — Evidence Act, 1872 — Section 134 — Rape — Sole testimony of prosecutrix — Standard of proof — Conviction can be sustained on the uncorroborated testimony of the prosecutrix only if it inspires confidence and is of sterling quality — Where the testimony contains material discrepancies, an unexplained 18-day delay in lodging the FIR, inability to identify the vehicle or co-accused, and evidence indicating the case arose from a marriage dispute, the sole testi India Law Library Docid # 2454409
(674) SABITA DEVI AND OTHERS Vs. THE STATE OF BIHAR AND OTHERS[PATNA HIGH COURT] 24-09-2026 Contempt of Courts Act, 1971 — Section 20 — Constitution of India, 1950 — Article 215 — Limitation for contempt proceedings — Constitutional validity and applicability — Prescribing a reasonable period of limitation under Section 20 of the Contempt of Courts Act for initiating contempt proceedings does not abrogate or stultify the contempt jurisdiction of the High Court under Article 215 of the Constitution of India, 1950 — Powers under Article 215 must be exercised in consonance with validly en India Law Library Docid # 2454410
(675) SHYAM SHANKAR SINGH AND OTHERS Vs. THE STATE OF BIHAR[PATNA HIGH COURT] 24-09-2026 Arms Act, 1959 — Sections 25(1-B)a, 26, and 35 — Criminal Procedure Code, 1973 (CrPC) — Section 100 — Search and Seizure — Recovery of unlicensed firearms and ammunition — Independent seizure witnesses — Hostile witness — Prosecution case rested entirely on recovery of arms from a vehicle — Out of two seizure list witnesses, only one was examined and he turned hostile, claiming he signed a blank paper — Second seizure witness was withheld without explanation — Failure to examine independent witn India Law Library Docid # 2454411
(676) KRISHNA YADAV Vs. THE STATE OF BIHAR[PATNA HIGH COURT] 24-09-2026 Criminal Procedure Code, 1973 (CrPC) — Section 239 — Penal Code, 1860 (IPC) — Sections 419, 420, 467, 468, 471 and 34 — Discharge of accused — Bank officials and legal counsel — Co-accused allegedly obtained bank loan by mortgaging complainant's land using forged documents — Bank manager and panel advocate, who rendered legal opinion on basis of submitted title deeds, were not named in FIR but subsequently charge-sheeted — No evidence collected during investigation showing criminal conspiracy or India Law Library Docid # 2454422
(677) SANJAY DHIMAN Vs. SUPER TREADS[HIMACHAL PRADESH HIGH COURT] 24-09-2026 Criminal Procedure Code, 1973 (CrPC) — Section 397 (Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita, 2023 — Section 438) — Negotiable Instruments Act, 1881 — Section 138 — Revisional Jurisdiction of High Court — Scope and limits — Concurrent findings of conviction — Revisional court does not act as an appellate court and cannot re-appreciate or re-evaluate evidence to substitute its own view — Jurisdiction is supervisory to correct miscarriage of justice, perversity, or patent illegality — Interference with India Law Library Docid # 2454093
(678) COMMISSIONER OF CENTRAL TAXES Vs. M/S INFINEON TECHNOLOGIES (I) PVT LTD[KARNATAKA HIGH COURT] 24-09-2026 Central Excise Act, 1944 — Section 35G and Section 35L — Maintainability of appeal before High Court — Interdependent appellate scheme — Section 35G bars appeals to the High Court from Tribunal orders determining any question relating to the rate of duty or valuation for assessment, routing them exclusively to the Supreme Court under Section 35L — Section 35L(2) clarifies that questions relating to the rate of duty include determination of taxability or excisability — The statutory exclusion in India Law Library Docid # 2454098
(679) PHULA DASSI Vs. STATE OF HIMACHAL PRADESH AND OTHERS[HIMACHAL PRADESH HIGH COURT] 24-09-2026 Central Civil Services (Pension) Rules, 1972 — General Provident Fund (Central Services) Rules, 1960 — Compassionate appointment — Counting of prior service for pension — Petitioner was appointed on compassionate grounds as a Peon on regular pay scale in 1994 under the Desert Development Programme, a State-run project, and was subsequently absorbed into the Rural Development Department in 2012 — State denied old pension scheme benefits citing introduction of Contributory Pension Scheme w.e.f. 15 India Law Library Docid # 2454099
(680) MOHAMMAD SHAMEER @DEDLI AND DAMI SHAMEER Vs. THE STATE OF KARNATAKA[KARNATAKA HIGH COURT] 24-09-2026 Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita, 2023 — Section 483 [Criminal Procedure Code, 1973 (CrPC) — Section 439] — Regular Bail — Parity — Threatening calls made from jail — Extortion and organised crime — Accused No. 4 sought regular bail for offences under Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, 2023, Karnataka Prisons (Amendment) Act, 2022, and Karnataka Control of Organized Crime Act, 2000 — Specific allegation was that petitioner assisted co-accused in destroying the mobile phone and SIM card used to make thre India Law Library Docid # 2454103