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Allahabad High Court holds that mere involvement in two criminal cases does not meet the 'habitual offender' threshold under the U.P. Control of Goondas Act, 1970. The ruling underscores the Act's preventive nature and the irreversible stigma of branding an individual a 'goonda,' requiring stricter proof of habitual criminality.
The Kerala High Court denied bail to an accused under the SC/ST (Prevention of Atrocities) Act, 1989, holding that a pattern of prior offenses combined with credible threats to witnesses justifies overriding the statutory presumption in favor of bail. This ruling reinforces that habitual criminality and intimidation risks are decisive factors in bail decisions under the Act, affecting how courts assess pre-trial liberty in caste-based atrocity cases.
Allahabad HC sets aside an externment order under the U.P. Control of Goondas Act, 1970, ruling that a single criminal case does not meet the 'habitual' conduct threshold. The judgment reinforces that preventive detention laws demand repeated, persistent offences to justify branding an individual as a 'goonda'.
Bombay HC Nagpur Bench reiterates that anticipatory bail under Section 65(a) of the Maharashtra Prohibition Act cannot be denied solely based on the accused's habitual offender status. The court emphasized that custodial interrogation must be justified by specific evidence, not past conduct alone, reinforcing bail jurisprudence under criminal law.
Bombay High Court ruled that security proceedings under Section 129 of the Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita (BNSS) can only be initiated against habitual offenders or those posing a community hazard, not for isolated incidents. The court quashed show-cause notices issued without establishing such grounds, reinforcing that procedural safeguards must align with legislative intent to prevent misuse.
Chhattisgarh High Court rules that repeated offences under the NDPS Act, coupled with misuse of interim bail, constitute sufficient grounds to deny regular bail under Section 483 BNSS. The judgment underscores judicial intolerance for recidivism and abuse of bail privileges, setting a precedent for stricter bail scrutiny in drug-related crimes.
The Punjab & Haryana High Court ruled that an accused named solely in a co-accused’s disclosure statement can be denied bail under the NDPS Act if multiple pending cases establish habitual offender status, even without recovery or corroborative evidence. This sets a precedent for stricter bail scrutiny in drug offences where criminal antecedents outweigh procedural gaps.
The J&K High Court ruled that prior criminal antecedents under the NDPS Act can justify bail denial even for intermediate drug quantities, emphasizing that habitual offender status outweighs the scale of recovery. This sets a precedent for stricter bail scrutiny in repeat drug offenses, impacting bail jurisprudence under Section 37.