Adverse Inference - The Legal Chamber

Supreme Court Says Long-Term Cohabitation Can Prove Valid Marriage for Inheritance Claims: Landmark Ruling

26Sep

By The Legal ChamberNo Comments

Supreme Court

Supreme Court Says Long-Term Cohabitation Can Prove Valid Marriage for Inheritance Claims: Landmark Ruling

This Supreme Court judgment reinforces that under Section 50 of the Indian Evidence Act, the opinion of a person with special means of knowledge is relevant to prove a familial relationship. It upholds the legal presumption of a valid marriage from long-term cohabitation. The Court also affirmed that a party's failure to enter the witness box, when facts are within their exclusive knowledge, warrants an adverse inference under Section 114(g). Revenue records do not confer title but only have fiscal value. Facts Of The Case: The dispute centered on the inheritance rights to the properties of Dasabovi, who had died intestate. The plaintiffs, Venkatappa and Siddamma, claimed to be his legitimate children from his first wife, Bheemakka. They alleged that after their father married a second w...

Supreme Court’s Landmark Ruling :The Problem with Extra-Judicial Confessions

The Supreme Court acquitted the accused, holding that the prosecution failed to prove guilt beyond reasonable doubt. The conviction, based on extra-judicial confession and circumstantial evidence, was unsustainable as the confessions were unreliable and the circumstantial chain was incomplete, violating the principles established in Sharad Birdhichand Sarda. The benefit of doubt was accorded to the appellant. Facts Of The Case: Neelam Kumari, the appellant, was convicted under Section 302 of the Indian Penal Code for the murder of her infant son. The prosecution's case was that on December 8, 2006, after returning with her husband, Nikku Ram, from his ancestral village, she was left alone with the child at their home in village Nand. When Nikku Ram returned later that evening, both the a...

Supreme Court Upholds Right to Peaceful Protest, Quashes Criminal Case Against Andhra Educationists

The Supreme Court held that certified copies of municipal documents, duly certified under Section 376 of the Karnataka Municipalities Act, 1964, carry the same evidentiary value as originals. The failure of the Municipal Council to produce original records despite court orders justified drawing an adverse inference, and a registered sale certificate cannot be invalidated by a mere administrative resolution. Facts Of The Case: The dispute concerned two plots, No. 394 and 395, auctioned by the City Municipal Council (CMC). Respondent No. 2, Prabhudeva, purchased plot No. 395 in a 1973 auction, but his 1988 sale deed erroneously mentioned plot No. 394. Upon realizing this mistake, he applied for rectification in 1992. The CMC's Junior Engineer inspected the site and confirmed the error, lea...