The Maharashtra government has directed strict implementation of the Prevention of Sexual Harassment (POSH) Act to protect women in the workplace, following a serious incident at a TCS unit in Nashik. Establishments with 10 or more employees must set up Internal Complaints Committees (ICCs) and register on the Centre's She-Box portal, with failure to comply resulting in penalties.
A POCSO court in Odisha's Angul district has sentenced a man to death for the rape and murder of a 4-year-old girl. The accused, Babula Jena, was found guilty under the POCSO Act and the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS).
A man was arrested in Goa for allegedly indecently exposing himself to two young children at a store in Margao. The incident occurred at a popular store in South Goa, and the accused was later apprehended in Ponda town.
Telangana Chief Minister A Revanth Reddy has directed a thorough investigation into the POCSO case registered against Union Minister Bandi Sanjay Kumar's son, following allegations of sexual harassment of a minor girl. The CM has sought an explanation for the delay in action and ordered the DGP to form special teams for the investigation.
The National Commission for Women (NCW) has taken suo motu cognisance of the gangrape of a 15-year-old girl in Tamil Nadu, terming the incident "horrific" and raising concerns over the safety of minor girls.
Seven Class X students of a hostel in Igatpuri, Nashik, have been booked for allegedly sexually abusing junior students. The hostel superintendent has also been booked for failing to take action after being informed of the abuse.
An RTI query reveals that only a fraction of Delhi's police stations have paralegal volunteers, and their assistance to POCSO victims is minimal, despite Supreme Court mandates.
The Supreme Court has criticised Haryana Police and Gurugram's Child Welfare Committee for their handling of a three-year-old's rape case, ordering a special investigation team and a fair probe.
A 38-year-old man in Ballia, Uttar Pradesh, has been arrested for allegedly committing an unnatural act with his 12-year-old nephew. The arrest follows a complaint filed by the boy's father, leading to a case registered under the POCSO Act.
A Nashik court denied pre-arrest bail to a TCS employee accused of sexual harassment and forcible conversion, citing a 'systematic plan' to brainwash the victim and send her to Malaysia. The court emphasised the need for custodial interrogation to uncover the root of the case, highlighting the multi-dimensional nature of the alleged offence.
The National Commission for Women (NCW) has voiced its concern over the circulation of obscene videos of young girls in Amravati, Maharashtra, and has directed authorities to remove the content from online platforms. The NCW is closely monitoring the case and has asked for regular progress reports.
A 14-year-old girl from Maharashtra's Palghar district has alleged that she was forcibly married to a man, sexually assaulted and made to undergo an abortion, police said on Tuesday.
The judge, however, ruled that there was a clear prima facie case under Section 354 of IPC for 'assault or criminal force to woman with intent to outrage her modesty".
Nine people, including two government employees, have been arrested from Kasaragod district in Kerala for allegedly sexually assaulting a 16-year-old boy after befriending him on a mobile app for the LGBTQ community, police said on Tuesday.
UN experts have voiced serious concerns regarding the ongoing abduction and forced religious conversion through marriage of women and girls from minority communities in Pakistan, highlighting that impunity is fuelling the practice.
Swami Avimukteshwaranand Saraswati has stated his willingness to undergo a narco analysis test to help establish the truth in the sexual abuse case registered against him under the POCSO Act. He maintains his innocence and alleges the case is an attempt to defame him.
The Punjab and Haryana High Court has rejected bail for Shubham Sangra, the main accused in the 2018 rape and murder case of a minor nomad girl in Kathua, Jammu and Kashmir, citing the heinous nature of the crime.
An RTI query reveals that only a fraction of Delhi's police stations have paralegal volunteers, and their assistance to POCSO victims is minimal, despite Supreme Court directives.
The Supreme Court on Monday suggested that Parliament should seriously consider bringing an amendment to the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act for substituting the term 'child pornography' with 'child sexual exploitative and abuse material' with a view to reflect more accurately the reality of such offences.
A 13-year-old tribal girl from Maharashtra's Palghar district was allegedly forcibly married off and raped, police said on Friday.
The Delhi High Court has overturned the conviction and 24-year jail sentence of Geeta Arora, also known as Sonu Punjaban, in a case involving the alleged trafficking of a 12-year-old girl, citing inconsistencies and contradictions in the victim's testimony and gaps in the prosecution's case.
The data compiled by the National Crime Records Bureau showed that the crime rate in 2023 stood at 39.9 per one-lakh child population, in comparison to 36.6 in 2022.
In a landmark verdict, the Supreme Court on Monday held that watching and downloading child pornography are offences under the POCSO Act and the information technology law.
According to the police, the survivor played a crucial role in exposing her alleged abusers by saving their phone numbers and documenting their details, all vital evidence in the case.
The Supreme Court has scheduled a hearing for November 12 to address the statutory age of consent for adolescents, emphasizing the need for a continuous and comprehensive examination of the issue. The Centre defends the current age of consent, while an amicus curiae suggests lowering it.
He was also sentenced to 20 years rigorous imprisonment each and a fine of Rs 50,000 each under sections 5(f) (penetrative sexual assault on a child) and 5(l) (penetrative sexual assault on a child more than once) of the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences Act.
'She came home covered in blood. When I asked her, she first said she had fallen, but there were no injuries on any other part of her body. On questioning further, she told me what had been done to her'
The Supreme Court has criticised the Gurugram Police's handling of a three-year-old rape victim's case, citing an 'insensitive' approach and ordering key officials to appear before the court with all investigation records.
The Supreme Court has deferred the hearing on the CBI's petition challenging the suspension of Kuldeep Singh Sengar's life imprisonment in the 2017 Unnao rape case.
Police in Palghar, Maharashtra, have registered a case against five individuals involved in the marriage of a 16-year-old minor tribal girl. The case involves charges of rape, human trafficking, harassment, and violations of the POCSO Act, Prohibition of Child Marriage Act, and the Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes (Prevention of Atrocities) Act.
Justices Urmila Joshi Phalke and Nandesh Deshpande of the HC's Nagpur bench, in the order passed on September 26, refused to accept the man's contention that he was in a consensual relationship with the 17-year-old girl and had registered the marriage only when she turned 18.
The Supreme Court on Monday stayed the Delhi high court's order suspending the life sentence of expelled Bharatiya Janata Party leader Kuldeep Singh Sengar in the 2017 Unnao rape case.
'Judges have transmitted a terrible message to citizens across the nation. All right-thinking individuals will be disturbed by what the Delhi high court judges have done.'
The Badlapur school, where two young girls were allegedly sexually abused, preferred to cover up the crime instead of helping their parents file a police complaint, said Susieben Shah, chairperson of Maharashtra State Commission for Protection of Child Rights, on Wednesday.
The Supreme Court has permitted the Unnao rape survivor to become a party in the CBI's petition challenging the suspension of Kuldeep Singh Sengar's life imprisonment, affirming the victim's right to be heard in the proceedings.
According to the FIR, the girl, aged 17 years and seven months, was full-term pregnant and had been "sexually assaulted" by an unidentified person about nine months ago.
Govt said these amendments are aimed at discouraging the trend of child sexual abuse by acting as a deterrent.
The court said that the accused "inserted this metallic rod inside the private parts of the deceased so mercilessly that even the flesh/ body part separating vagina and anus also got torn." Further, the doctor had also opined that the injuries were sufficient to cause death, the court said.
The Delhi Police has sent a notice to micro-blogging site Twitter seeking details about steps taken by it against circulation of child pornographic content on its platform, officials said.
A special court in Tamil Nadu's Thanjavur on Tuesday sentenced a PhD scholar to five life imprisonments, to be served concurrently, for sexually assaulting minors and posting videos of the acts on the Internet to make money, officials said.