A Division Bench led by Justices W.A. Shishak and R.S. Garg held that a conviction cannot be based only on an FIR not lodged by an eyewitness, stressing that an FIR is not substantive evidence under the Indian Evidence Act. In a landmark ruling reaffirming fundamental criminal procedure, the Chhattisgarh High Court has overturned the…
Citation : 2001 Local Law (CG) 54 The Chhattisgarh High Court has overturned convictions in a long-running assault-and-murder prosecution after finding the trial court relied improperly on a police first information report (FIR) that was not supported by eyewitness testimony in court. Writing for a single-judge bench, Justice R.S. Garg reviewed three linked appeals arising…
Justice R.S. Garg ruled that an appellate court cannot admit new evidence on a factual issue like minority of a vendor unless it was pleaded in the written statement and supported by material issues at trial. In a detailed ruling reinforcing procedural discipline in civil litigation, the Chhattisgarh High Court has held that an appellate…
Citation : 2001 Local Law (CG) 78 The Chhattisgarh High Court, presided over by Justice R.S. Garg, has set aside an order passed by the First Appellate Court that permitted additional evidence without proper pleadings or hearing on merits. The ruling came in a civil revision filed by Hazi Mohammad Hanif Qureshi, who had challenged…
The Chhattisgarh High Court has granted bail to an accused in a 2001 assault case from Rajnandgaon, sharply criticizing the lower court for what it described as an arbitrary and whimsical approach to handling bail applications. Justice R.S. Garg, while allowing the bail petition, examined the case diary of Crime No. 8/2001 registered at Somani…
Citation : 2001 Local Law (CG) 65 The Chhattisgarh High Court, in an order authored by Justice R.S. Garg, has dismissed an appeal filed by plaintiffs who challenged an appellate court’s grant of an injunction in favour of a defendant. The dispute reached the High Court after the trial court refused the defendant’s original injunction…
Citation : 2001 Local Law (CG) 51 The Chhattisgarh High Court, in a significant ruling delivered by Justice R.S. Garg, has modified the damages imposed by a trial court in a case involving the dismissal of a purported public interest suit. The Court held that the trial court had no authority to award damages in…
Citation : 2001 Local Law (CG) 41 The Chhattisgarh High Court has found serious lapses by police officers in their investigation of an arrest and detention case, calling their conduct unacceptable and ordering both departmental and criminal action. The order, issued by R.S. Garg J., notes that four young men were taken into custody on…
Citation : 2001 Local Law (CG) 41 In a strongly worded order, Justice R.S. Garg of the Chhattisgarh High Court exposed serious misconduct by two police officers from Bemetara, directing that criminal proceedings be initiated against them for unlawful detention, fabrication of records, and misuse of authority. The case stems from an incident in November…