Thug Life plea: SC asks petitioners to go to HC
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
New Indian Express
an hour ago
- New Indian Express
State action not enough to curb superstitions
Such corporal punishments have rarely been reported in the past. One can only attribute these incidents' wider airing to the increased use of mobile phones in the tribal hinterlands. However, they must not be ignored as isolated incidents. They speak of the kangaroo courts steeped in a primitive legal system that dish out quick justice in these areas. Tribal groups constitute about 23 percent of Odisha's population, and across the vast swathes of their habitations, ancient customs and practices continue to rule the roost. The widespread prevalence of superstition, quackery, sorcery and witchcraft has been perpetuated by decades of backwardness, low levels of literacy and absence of governance. Many of the tribal groups continue to remain unexposed to the modern rights-based legal system, however imperfect it is. While it is important to protect the cultural integrity of tribal communities from urban invasion, the state government must ensure that the fundamental rights of individuals enshrined in the Constitution are safeguarded irrespective of where they live. The experience with laws to tackle sorcery and witchcraft in tribal-dominated states reveals that administrations have struggled to effectively implement them. State and police actions can only instil a sense of fear. The longterm solution should be through focused initiatives based on nuanced understanding of the cultural complexities of the communities and the socio-political dynamics of the region.
Economic Times
an hour ago
- Economic Times
Debt by cash transactions of over Rs 20,000 not legally enforceable: Kerala HC
Synopsis The Kerala High Court made a significant ruling. It involves cash transactions exceeding Rs 20,000. Such debts are not legally enforceable without proper justification. This decision came during a cheque dishonor case appeal. The court acquitted the accused, emphasizing the need to discourage large cash transactions. This aligns with India's digital economy goals. The Kerala High Court on Friday declared that a debt created by a cash transaction of above Rs 20,000 in violation of the Income Tax Act is not a "legally enforceable debt" unless there is a valid explanation for the same. ADVERTISEMENT Justice P V Kunhikrishnan made the declaration while allowing a plea for setting aside the conviction and sentence of a man accused in a cheque dishonor case. The accused was sentenced to one year and imposed with a fine of Rs 9 lakh by a sessions court for the offence of dishonour of cheque due to insufficiency of funds in the account under section 138 of Negotiable Instruments (NI) Act. In his appeal in the High Court against the sessions court decision, the accused claimed that as the amount of Rs 9 lakh given to him by the complainant was in cash, it was an illegal transaction according to the Income Tax laws. "Therefore, a debt created by an illegal transaction cannot be treated as a legally enforceable debt," the accused had claimed. Agreeing with the accused's contention, Justice Kunhikrishnan said that if a criminal court "indirectly legalises such illegal transactions in violation of the IT Act" by treating them as a legally enforceable debt, it will be against the aim of the country to discourage cash transactions above Rs 20,000. ADVERTISEMENT The High Court said that discouraging cash transactions above Rs 20,000 was also "a part of the 'digital India' dream of our country, which is propounded by our Prime Minister to save our economy and to curb a parallel economy in our country". "If the debt arises through an illegal transaction, that debt cannot be treated as a legally enforceable debt. If the court regularises such transactions, that will encourage illegal transactions by the citizens. Even black money will be converted into white money through the criminal courts," the High Court said. ADVERTISEMENT It further said that in such cases the accused should challenge such transactions in evidence and has to rebut the presumption under section 139 of the NI Act that "the holder of a cheque received it for the discharge of a debt or other liability". In the instant case, the accused had rebutted the presumption by claiming that the complainant does not have the source to loan out Rs 9 lakh and therefore, the debt alleged to be due to him cannot be treated as a legally enforceable one, the HC said. ADVERTISEMENT It allowed the accused's revision petition and acquitted him by setting aside his conviction and sentence by the lower court. The High Court said if anybody pays an amount in excess of Rs 20,000 to another person by cash in violation of the IT Act and thereafter receives a cheque for that debt, he should take responsibility to get back the amount, unless there is a valid explanation for such cash transactions. ADVERTISEMENT "If there is no valid explanation in tune with provisions of the IT Act, the doors of the criminal court will be closed for such illegal transactions," the HC said. It also made it clear that its findings would be prospective in nature. (You can now subscribe to our Economic Times WhatsApp channel) (Catch all the Business News, Breaking News, Budget 2025 Events and Latest News Updates on The Economic Times.) Subscribe to The Economic Times Prime and read the ET ePaper online. NEXT STORY
Hindustan Times
2 hours ago
- Hindustan Times
SC upholds man's conviction in minor sexual assault, modifies sentence to life term
The Supreme Court on Friday upheld the conviction of a man in a sexual assault case of a minor girl but modified his sentence to life term instead of prison time for the remainder of natural life. The top court's verdict came on the man's appeal against a September 2023 order of the Chhattisgarh High Court.(File Photo) A bench of Justices Vikram Nath and Sandeep Mehta found merit in the submission that since the offence was committed in May 2019, the amended provision of Section 6 of the Protection of Children against Sexual Offences Act (POCSO) Act could not have been applied to his case. Section 6 deals with punishment for aggravated penetrative sexual assault. The bench noted the amended provision of Section 6 of the Act came into force on August 16, 2019. Prior to the 2019 amendment, the court noted, Section 6 entailed a minimum punishment of 10 years and a maximum of life imprisonment along with the fine. Referring to Article 20(1) of the Constitution, which deals with protection in respect of conviction for offences, the bench said, "The constitutional bar against retrospective imposition of a harsher penalty under Article 20(1) is clear and absolute." The trial court was observed to have applied the enhanced sentence introduced by the 2019 amendment to Section 6, effectively subjecting the convict to a punishment greater than what was permissible under the law at the time of the offence. "The sentence of 'imprisonment for life, meaning remainder of natural life', as per the amended provision, did not exist in the statutory framework on May 20, 2019, the date of the incident," the bench said. Under the unamended Section 6, the maximum punishment permissible was life term in its conventional sense and not imprisonment till remainder of natural life. "Accordingly, while we uphold the conviction of the appellant under section 6 of the POCSO Act, we modify the sentence to that of rigorous imprisonment for life, as understood under the unamended statute, and set aside the sentence of imprisonment for the remainder of the natural life," it said. The ₹10,000 fine imposed on him was, however, upheld. The top court's verdict came on the man's appeal against a September 2023 order of the Chhattisgarh High Court. The high court rejected his plea against a trial court verdict, convicting and sentencing him to life imprisonment for remainder of his natural life with the fine. The man was booked in 2019 on the complaint of the father of the minor survivor.
