Shivdhar Upadhyay Vs State of NCT of Delhi through Principal Secretary Home & Ors. — Delhi HC (2026) — LawSathi Research

Shivdhar Upadhyay Vs State of NCT of Delhi through Principal Secretary Home & Ors. — Delhi HC (2026) — LawSathi Research

What the court decided

AI extract

Outcome

Petition dismissed as withdrawn, without prejudice to the remedies available to the petitioner in accordance with law; no opinion expressed on maintainability or merits, and rights and contentions of all parties reserved.

Issue for consideration

Whether the Sessions Court had jurisdiction to deal with the appeal filed by respondent No. 3 against the judgment of acquittal dated 16.10.2024, the petitioner's objection to which was dismissed by the impugned order dated 06.04.2026. +1 more

Ratio / Principle

The writ petition, along with pending applications, was dismissed as withdrawn, permitting withdrawal without prejudice to the remedies available to the petitioner in accordance with law.

Key takeaways

The Court clarified that it had not rendered any opinion on the maintainability or merits of any proposed challenge.obiter¶17
Since notice had not been issued to the respondents, the rights and contentions of all parties remain reserved.obiter¶18
A constitutional challenge would have to be properly pleaded with a consequent relief sought, in which case the petition would have to be heard by a Division Bench in accordance with the roster of the Court.obiter

Detailed headnote1 paragraphs

Delhi High Court (Prateek Jalan, J.), W.P.(CRL) 2106/2026, order dated 21.07.2026: Petitioner challenged a Sessions Court order dated 06.04.2026 dismissing his objection to that Court's jurisdiction to entertain respondent No. 3's appeal against a judgment of acquittal dated 16.10.2024. At hearing, counsel indicated a wish to challenge the constitutional vires of the proviso to Section 372 CrPC as contradicting Section 378 CrPC, but no such prayer was sought in the petition; the Court noted such a challenge would require proper pleading and Division Bench hearing per the roster. Permission to withdraw was sought and the petition, with pending applications, was dismissed as withdrawn without prejudice to remedies in accordance with law. The Court expressed no opinion on maintainability or merits, and, notice not having been issued, reserved the rights and contentions of all parties.

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* IN THE HIGH COURT OF DELHI AT NEW DELHI

W.P.(CRL) 2106/2026 & CRL.M.As. 21104-21105/2026 SHIVDHAR UPADHYAY .....Petitioner Through: Ms. Gunider Gill, Ms. Bonita Singh, Mr. Anoop Pandey, Advocates.

versus

STATE OF NCT OF DELHI THROUGH PRINCIPAL SECRETARY HOME & ORS. .....Respondents Through: Mr. Amol Sinha, ASC.

CORAM: HON’BLE MR. JUSTICE PRATEEK JALAN

O R D E R % 21.07.2026

The petitioner assails an order dated 06.04.2026, by which the Sessions Court dismissed his objection, as to its jurisdiction to deal with the appeal filed by respondent No. 3 against a judgment of acquittal dated 16.10.2024.

In the course of hearing, Ms. Gunider Gill, learned counsel for the petitioner, submits that the petitioner wishes to challenge the constitutional vires of the proviso to Section 372 of the Code of Criminal Procedure, 1973 [“CrPC”] as, according to her, there is an inherent contradiction between the said provision and Section 378 of the CrPC. 3. Although there are references in grounds XII and XIII of the petition that the proviso and consequent proceedings are unconstitutional, I notice that no such prayer is sought in the present petition.

W.P.(CRL) 2106/2026

Page 1 of 2

This is a digitally signed order.

The authenticity of the order can be re-verified from Delhi High Court Order Portal by scanning the QR code shown above. The Order is downloaded from the DHC Server on 23/07/2026 at 12:27:56

It has been pointed out to learned counsel that a constitutional challenge would have to be properly pleaded and a consequent relief sought, in which case the petition would have to be heard by a Division Bench, in accordance with the roster of the Court.

In order to file a comprehensive petition, including the challenge to the vires articulated above, Ms. Gill seeks permission to withdraw this petition, without prejudice to the remedies available to the petitioner in accordance with law.

The petition, alongwith pending applications, is dismissed as withdrawn in terms of the above.

It is clarified that this Court has not rendered any opinion on the maintainability or merits of any proposed challenge.

Needless to say, as notice has not been issued to the respondents, the rights and contentions of all parties remain reserved.

PRATEEK JALAN, J

JULY 21, 2026

“B/KA”/

W.P.(CRL) 2106/2026

Page 2 of 2

This is a digitally signed order.

The authenticity of the order can be re-verified from Delhi High Court Order Portal by scanning the QR code shown above. The Order is downloaded from the DHC Server on 23/07/2026 at 12:27:56