Sikarwar Legal Consultancy and Associates

Sikarwar Legal Consultancy and Associates Area of practice- Service, Criminal, Civil and Constitutional matters.

18/08/2026

The Delhi High Court has held that a spouse who, despite obtaining a decree for restitution of conjugal rights, refuses to resume cohabitation and simultaneously challenges the validity of the marriage cannot subsequently seek a decree of divorce under Section 13(1A) of the Hindu Marriage Act, 1955.

A Division Bench comprising Justice Vivek Chaudhary and Justice Renu Bhatnagar, in Yash Khanna v. Bhawna, MAT.APP.(F.C.) No. 252/2018, held that such conduct amounts to taking advantage of one’s own wrong, within the meaning of Section 23(1)(a) of the Hindu Marriage Act, 1955. The Court accordingly dismissed the husband’s appeal against the Family Court’s refusal to grant him a decree of divorce.

The Court’s reasoning underscores that the statutory right to seek divorce under Section 13(1A) cannot be invoked by a party whose own conduct has contributed to or perpetuated the matrimonial separation, particularly where the same party refuses to resume the marital relationship while questioning the very validity of the marriage.

Case: Yash Khanna v. Bhawna
Case No.: MAT.APP.(F.C.) No. 252/2018
Court: Delhi High Court
Bench: Justice Vivek Chaudhary and Justice Renu Bhatnagar
Relevant Provisions: Sections 13(1A) and 23(1)(a), Hindu Marriage Act, 1955.

01/04/2026

The Supreme Court of India has set aside a judgment of the Allahabad High Court and quashed the dismissal of an employee of the U.P. Cooperative Federation Limited, observing that a departmental enquiry stands vitiated if no oral enquiry is held and no witnesses are examined to prove the charges despite a denial by the delinquent employee.

Jai Prakash Saini v. Managing Director, U.P. Cooperative Federation Ltd. & Ors. Case No: Civil Appeal No. ___ of 2026 (Arising out of SLP (C) No. 2900 of 2020)

21/01/2026

Vague DIR under DV Act – Proceedings Quashed as Abuse of Process

The High Court of Chhattisgarh has held that where a Domestic Incident Report (DIR) is vague, omnibus, and lacks the material particulars mandated under Section 9 of the Protection of Women from Domestic Violence Act, 2005, and where the proceedings appear to be initiated with mala fide intent or as a pressure tactic in matrimonial disputes, the continuation of such proceedings constitutes an abuse of the process of law.

Relying upon the well-settled principles enunciated by the Supreme Court in State of Haryana v. Bhajan Lal, 1992 Supp (1) SCC 335, the High Court observed that criminal proceedings initiated without foundational facts and prima facie material, and motivated by ulterior considerations, deserve to be quashed at the threshold.

The Court emphasized that a DIR is not a mere formality and must contain specific allegations, dates, nature of domestic violence, and supporting material, as contemplated under Section 9 of the DV Act. In the absence of such particulars, the proceedings cannot be permitted to continue mechanically.

Accordingly, the Court held that allowing such proceedings to continue would result in misuse of the DV Act, thereby warranting interference to prevent harassment and miscarriage of justice.

Shri Prakash Singh & Others v. State of Chhattisgarh & Another

Case No.: WPCR No. 433 of 2025

Court: High Court of Chhattisgarh

05/01/2026

The Patna High Court directed Patna University to regularize the services of several employees who had been working for decades on Class III and Class IV posts, holding that their appointments, though made without due advertisement and therefore procedurally flawed, were “irregular” rather than “illegal.”
The Court observed that the long and uninterrupted service of the employees could not be ignored and that the defects in the recruitment process did not go to the root of the appointments so as to render them void ab initio.

Madhwi Jha & Ors. v. The Patna University & Ors.
Civil Writ Jurisdiction Case No. 18289 of 2015.

03/01/2026

The High Court of Andhra Pradesh has held that an appeal under Section 37(1)(b) of the Arbitration and Conciliation Act, 1996 is maintainable against an ad-interim order passed under Section 9 of the Act, even when the main petition seeking interim measures is still pending before the Commercial Court.

A Division Bench comprising Justice Ravi Nath Tilhari and Justice Maheswara Rao Kuncheam overruled the registry’s objection regarding maintainability and clarified that an ad-interim direction requiring the parties to maintain “status quo ante” amounts to “granting a measure” within the meaning of Section 9. Consequently, such an order squarely falls within the ambit of Section 37(1)(b) and is therefore appealable.

The Court categorically held that the appealability of an order does not depend on the final disposal of the Section 9 petition, and that even an ad-interim order affecting the rights of the parties is amenable to appellate scrutiny.

Case: Visakhapatnam Port Authority v. M/s. Vishwanadh Avenues India Private Limited (and connected matter),
Commercial Court Appeal (SR) Nos. 53095 & 53096 of 2025.

02/01/2026

The Supreme Court has held that appellate courts cannot permit the production of additional evidence under Order XLI Rule 27 of the CPC unless it is founded on proper pleadings. The Court emphasized that, before allowing additional evidence at the appellate stage, it is imperative to examine whether the party had laid the necessary factual foundation for such evidence at the trial stage. Any evidence that is inconsistent with, or unrelated to, the pleadings is inadmissible and devoid of legal significance.

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