These notes are written for litigants and for younger members of the Bar. They explain procedure as it operates in the Delhi courts — the sequence of steps, the timelines that matter, and the points at which a matter is commonly lost. They are general information, not advice on any particular case.
Jail Before Trial Is Not Punishment – Advocate Manish Jha
Granting bail in the ₹979 crore Jal Jeevan Mission tender case, the Supreme Court held that pre-trial incarceration cannot masquerade as punitive detention when the trial is not imminent.
Read → 3 October 2026 · Criminal LawWhatsApp Counts As Public View – Advocate Manish Jha
The Bombay High Court held that circulating a victim's intimate images on WhatsApp is humiliation within public view under the SC/ST Act, attracting the Section 18 bar on anticipatory bail.
Read → 3 October 2026 · Criminal LawNo Settling A POCSO Case – Advocate Manish Jha
The Delhi High Court refused to quash an FIR under Section 6 POCSO on the strength of a settlement, holding that neither the child victim nor the family can compromise such an offence.
Read → 3 October 2026 · Criminal LawLOCs Are Not Routine Tools – Advocate Manish Jha
The Delhi High Court quashed look out circulars against two cooperating subjects of a money-laundering investigation, holding an LOC is a coercive measure that cannot issue as a matter of routine.
Read → 3 October 2026 · Criminal LawSC Orders Delhi Safety Overhaul – Advocate Manish Jha
In a suo motu proceeding on recent rape incidents in Delhi NCR, the Supreme Court directed time-bound safety audits, patrolling, infrastructure repair and fast-track trials targeted at one year.
Read → 3 October 2026 · Criminal LawNo Default Dismissals On Appeal – Advocate Manish Jha
A criminal appeal cannot be dismissed merely because the appellant or counsel is absent: the appellate court must decide on the merits after perusing the record. What that means in practice.
Read → 2 October 2026 · Criminal LawUAPA Bail: Roles Decide, Not Parity – Advocate Manish Jha
The Delhi High Court dismisses the bail appeals of Sharjeel Imam and Umar Khalid in the Delhi riots conspiracy case, holding their alleged roles as core conspirators distinct from co-accused who received bail.
Read → 2 October 2026 · Criminal LawPOCSO Conviction Falls on Appeal – Advocate Manish Jha
Material contradictions between the victim's statements and the absence of medical corroboration led the Delhi High Court to acquit in a POCSO appeal, holding that statutory presumptions do not replace objective appreciation of evidence.
Read → 2 October 2026 · Criminal LawBroken Chain, DNA Mismatch: Acquittal – Advocate Manish Jha
In Santosh Gurung v. State of Sikkim, the Supreme Court acquits a man sentenced for the rape and murder of a child, finding the last-seen evidence uncertain, recoveries unreliable and the DNA report contradictory.
Read → 2 October 2026 · Criminal LawChanging Bail Conditions Lawfully – Advocate Manish Jha
Weekly police attendance, surrendered passports, heavy sureties: how onerous bail conditions can be relaxed or modified under the BNSS, which court to move, and how to build the application.
Read → 1 October 2026 · Criminal LawBail Is About Law, Not Morality – Advocate Manish Jha
Setting aside a bail refusal that rested on fears for social order and the complainant family's morals, the Supreme Court holds that judges must keep personal views on morality out of bail decisions.
Read → 1 October 2026 · Criminal LawCustody Is Not a Recovery Tool – Advocate Manish Jha
The Delhi High Court grants anticipatory bail to an 80-year-old in a matrimonial FIR, holding that custodial interrogation is not required merely to recover stridhan, and a four-year delay weakened the case for arrest.
Read →What Is Covered Here
The chamber writes on the areas in which it appears: criminal procedure under the Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita, 2023, bail practice, matrimonial and family proceedings before the Delhi Family Courts, cheque dishonour and recovery, and proceedings before the NCLT and the Motor Accident Claims Tribunals. Notes on reported judgments of the Supreme Court of India and the High Court of Delhi are published with a link to the official text of the decision, so that a reader can verify the position rather than rely on a summary.
No article on this page identifies a client or discusses a pending matter conducted by the chamber. Where a statutory provision is cited, the section number is given so that a reader can verify it against the bare Act.