State vs Building Owners — Lucknow Coaching Centre Fire Investigation

Eight persons were arrested on allegations of embezzlement of donations received at the Ram Temple in Ayodhya. The case involves accused persons including Ramashankar Yadav, Anukalp Mishra, Avinash Shukla, and others. A Special Investigation Team (SIT) was constituted to probe the matter, and the investigation has expanded to examine alleged bribes for appointments at the temple establishment.

A 19-year-old Dalit woman was allegedly gang-raped and murdered in Hathras district, Uttar Pradesh in September 2020. The CBI filed a chargesheet in December 2020 against four accused persons. In March 2023, an SC/ST court acquitted three of the four accused; one was convicted of culpable homicide, and gang-rape charges were dropped against all accused.

The Supreme Court quashed an SC/ST Act offence against a school manager accused of assaulting and hurling caste-based abuses. The Court held that caste abuse in an enclosed space and without a specific caste-based utterance in public view does not constitute an offence under the SC/ST (Prevention of Atrocities) Act, 1989.

A case involving charges under Sections 304B and 498A IPC related to dowry death. The Allahabad High Court reviewed the conviction and reduced the sentences to time already undergone, noting that life imprisonment is not automatic in dowry death cases.

A trial court took cognizance in a dowry death case where the FIR was lodged under Section 302 IPC but the chargesheet was submitted under Sections 304-B and 498-A IPC and Sections 3/4 of the Dowry Prohibition Act. The Allahabad High Court directed that murder should be framed as the main charge with Section 304-B as an alternative.

The National Green Tribunal is hearing a plea regarding dumping of municipal solid waste and construction debris in and around in-situ wetlands at Sectors 137 and 49 in Noida. The NGT has directed the UP Pollution Control Board to ensure action against the dumping despite prior directives to the Noida Authority.