At the centre of the Venu Srinivasan idol theft FIR quashing appeals sits a factual dispute: Tamil Nadu told the Supreme Court on Wednesday that an antique peacock idol existed at Chennai’s Kapaleeswarar Temple before its alleged replacement. New Delhi: A batch of petitions against the Madras High Court’s February 2024 decision to quash the […]
“An open secret”: the Supreme Court has remarked on how often litigants colourize civil disputes into criminal offences, as it quashed a cheating FIR against a power of attorney holder. New Delhi: Quashing an FIR and all consequential proceedings against a power of attorney holder in a land sale dispute, the Supreme Court has held […]
A smudge of indelible ink was not enough: the Madras High Court quashes FIR against an Australian citizen booked for allegedly voting in the Tamil Nadu Assembly elections, holding that nothing on record showed he had voted in the constituency named in the case. Chennai: The Madras High Court has quashed a first information report […]
The Delhi High Court has quashed an FIR for attempt to murder and Arms Act offences after the parties settled their dispute, directing the four petitioners to pay Rs 25,000 each to an environmental research and action group. New Delhi: The Delhi High Court has quashed an FIR registered under Sections 307, 506 and 34 […]
The Bombay High Court has quashed an FIR in a commercial cheating dispute that the parties had fully settled, but imposed costs of Rs 25,000 on the applicant, holding that criminal law cannot be used as a bargaining chip or a recovery mechanism for private settlements. Setting the criminal machinery in motion, only to seek consent quashing later, wastes public and judicial resources, the Court said, and costs in such ‘consent quashing’ matters serve as a deterrent.
The Supreme Court has set aside a Karnataka High Court order that had quashed an FIR, holding that a Magistrate’s direction to register an FIR under Section 156(3) of the CrPC does not amount to ‘taking cognizance’ of an offence. It also clarified that the mandatory affidavit safeguard laid down in Priyanka Srivastava is to be applied by substance and not as an empty formality. The investigation was directed to be reopened.
The Delhi High Court has refused to quash a POCSO and rape case on the basis of a compromise stated to have been reached with the victim’s family, holding that a child victim or their family cannot compromise an offence under the POCSO Act. Relying on the Supreme Court’s decision in Gian Singh, Justice Sachin Datta held that heinous and serious sexual offences are not private in nature and cannot be quashed on settlement.
The Karnataka High Court has quashed an FIR against a shopkeeper accused of making insulting remarks against the Prime Minister when questioned about barricades outside his shop, holding that the offence of intentional insult to provoke breach of peace under Section 352 of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita requires an insult directed at the complainant, not a third party. With no such ingredient made out, and an unexplained delay in the complaint, continuing the prosecution would be an abuse of process.
Warning that false accusations of child sexual abuse levelled by one parent against the other in custody disputes are on the rise, the Supreme Court has laid down safeguards to prevent the misuse of the POCSO Act. Before coercive action is taken on such a complaint arising against a matrimonial backdrop, a Special Court should ordinarily obtain an expert psychological evaluation of the child. On the facts, the Court quashed a false case against a father and directed the child’s re-integration with him.
