A controversy has erupted over the alleged misrepresentation of the India map on the posters displayed by the Congress to commemorate the centenary of 1924 Congress session in Karnataka's Belagavi, with the Bharatiya Janata Party dubbing it as 'vote bank' politics by the national party.
The Centre on Tuesday urged the Supreme Court not to hear this week the pleas on the vexed legal question of whether a husband should enjoy immunity from prosecution for the offence of rape if he forces his wife, who is not a minor, to have sex.
The Enforcement Directorate (ED) faced criticism from the Supreme Court for filing a "half-baked" reply in a bail matter related to the Chhattisgarh liquor scam. The court expressed dissatisfaction with the situation, questioning the accountability of the ED and its advocate-on-record. The ED's additional solicitor general, S.V. Raju, attributed the error to a miscommunication and assured the court that a departmental inquiry would be initiated.
The Supreme Court has said it listed for Tuesday pleas on the vexed legal question of whether a husband should enjoy immunity from prosecution for the offence of rape if he forces his wife, who is not a minor, to have sex.
The Delhi High Court has reserved its order on a plea by jailed MP Rashid Engineer, facing trial in a terror funding case, seeking custody parole to attend the ongoing Parliament session. Engineer, a Baramulla MP, was opposed by the National Investigation Agency (NIA) who argued that he has no vested right to attend Parliament and there were security concerns. The court said though there might not be a vested right to attend the session, it could exercise its discretion. The NIA also argued that Rashid misused the telephone facility in Tihar jail and that allowing him to attend the session would be a security risk.
Bhatt was earlier sentenced to life imprisonment in a 1990 custodial death case in Jamnagar and 20 years in jail in a 1996 case relating to planting drugs to frame a Rajasthan-based lawyer in Palanpur. He is currently lodged in the Rajkot Central Jail.
The Delhi High Court has sought the state government's response on a plea by a sexual assault survivor seeking enhanced interim compensation. The survivor contracted HIV as a result of the assault and argues that the current compensation scheme doesn't adequately address such cases. The court has asked the Delhi government, its Department of Women and Child Development, and the Delhi State Legal Service Authority to respond within two weeks. The hearing is scheduled for January 7, 2025.
The Delhi high court on Wednesday said there was an anomaly and misalignment in the erstwhile Section 377 of the Indian Penal Code, which was decriminalised by the Supreme Court in 2018, and the rape law that protects a husband from prosecution for a non-consensual sexual act, including unnatural sex, with his wife.
Delhi's crime rate against women stood at 144.4 in 2022 -- the highest among all states and Union Territories.
A special court in Thane, India, has acquitted six individuals, including a former corporator, in an extortion case. The court cited "lack of evidence" and "procedural lapses" by the prosecution, as well as "unreliable testimonies" of witnesses, as reasons for granting the accused the benefit of doubt.
The case dates back to 2005, when the Punjab police arrested a man under the provisions of the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances Act (NDPS) and later claimed that he escaped from custody. His father filed a habeas corpus and a few days later, a body was found and it was assumed that it was of the accused person arrested under the NDPS charges. Incidentally, the man was found alive after 14 years.
The court was hearing a PIL by Gantavya Gulati, a lawyer who was appearing in person, seeking to address the "exigent legal lacuna" resulting from the enactment of the BNS which has also led to the repeal of section 377 of the Indian Penal Code (IPC).
The newly enacted Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, which replaces the British-era Indian Penal Code, has made sexual offences "gender neutral" for the victim and the perpetrator, according to official documents.
Five cow vigilantes in Faridabad have been charged with mob lynching in the death of a student who they mistook for a cattle smuggler. The Faridabad police filed a 600-page chargesheet against the accused, including statements from 30 witnesses. The chargesheet includes sections for murder, criminal conspiracy, and intentionally concealing evidence.
The bench wondered if it struck down the immunity clause in the penal codes then the offence will be covered under the main provision on rape or "can the court create a separate offence or adjudicate the validity of the exception (clause)".
The court of special judge (POCSO), west session division, Yupia also sentenced two others to 20 years of rigorous imprisonment each for their involvement in the case.
Her immovable assets are worth over Rs 7.74 crore, which includes two inherited half shares of agricultural land in Mehrauli area of New Delhi and a half share in a farmhouse building located therein, all of which together are now worth over Rs 2.10 crore.
Opposing the criminalisation of marital rape, which is sought by many petitioners before the apex court, the Centre has filed its preliminary counter affidavit in the top court.
Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis has re-introduced the Special Public Security Bill in the state assembly, aiming to combat 'urban Naxalism'. The bill, which seeks to criminalize activities deemed to disrupt public order, has faced criticism from opposition parties who argue it could stifle dissent. The proposed law will be referred to a joint select committee for review and is expected to be passed in the monsoon session next year.
The Supreme Court of India granted bail to eight convicts in the 1987 Hashimpura massacre case. The case involved the killing of 38 people by personnel of the Provincial Armed Constabulary. The court considered the fact that the convicts have been incarcerated for over six years following the Delhi High Court's reversal of their acquittal by the trial court.
The Kerala High Court granted anticipatory bail to veteran actor-cum-director Balachandra Menon in a case accusing him of outraging the modesty of a female actor in 2007 during a film shoot. The court said that men too have "pride and dignity" and not just women. The case was lodged in September this year after the release of the Justice Hema Committee report, which was constituted by the Kerala government after the 2017 actress assault case.
As per the law, obstruction or refusal to comply with directions results in loss of lives or imminent danger thereof, shall on conviction be punishable with imprisonment for a term which may extend to two years.
A bench of Justices Hrishikesh Roy and SV N Bhatti sought Tankha's response in four weeks on the plea of Chouhan and BJP state president VD Sharma and former minister Bhupendra Singh who have challenged the October 25 order of the Madhya Pradesh high court refusing to quash the defamation case.
A rape case has been registered against Malayalam actor Sidhique following a female actor's allegation that he sexually assaulted her in 2016, the police said on Wednesday.
Maharashtra recorded the highest number of cases in the country under the Indian Penal Code (IPC) in 2021 at 3,67,218, while Mumbai was placed second among major metropolitan cities in registration of criminal offences, according to a National Crime Records Bureau (NCRB) report.
The prosecution has proved the entire chain that connected the accused with each other for achieving the goal of executing the bomb blast and perform terrorist acts, the written statement, filed by the intervenor for the victims, said.
A special NIA court in Lucknow has sentenced 28 people to life imprisonment for the 2018 killing of a 22-year-old youth in clashes during a 'Tiranga rally' on Republic Day in Kasganj district of Uttar Pradesh. The case drew significant attention as the killing of Chandan Gupta sparked widespread riots in Kasganj for three days. The prosecution demanded the severest punishment while the defence counsel pleaded for leniency. The court awarded life sentences and imposed a fine of Rs 80,000 on each of the convicts. Gupta's family expressed satisfaction at the verdict but vowed to continue its fight for harsher penalties for the main accused and those acquitted.
A division bench of Justices Bharati Dangre and Manjusha Deshpande warned that it would impose costs on the authorities for denying parole only on the ground that Baig had been convicted of terror charges.
Besides the bills, the government has listed the first batch of supplementary demands for grants for 2023-24 for presentation, discussion and voting during the session.
Visually impaired transgender sprinter Valentina Petrillo said she felt welcomed by her fellow competitors despite the widespread scrutiny outside of the Paralympic village in France.
Prior to transitioning, Petrillo won 11 national titles in the men's category.
Under the Bhartiya Nyaya Sanhita, exception 2 to Section 63 (rape) says that 'sexual intercourse or sexual acts by a man with his own wife, the wife not being under eighteen years of age, is not rape'.
More than a year after a woman's body was recovered from a creek in Thane district, police have found that she was pushed to death from a bridge by her lover for resisting his sexual advances. The 23-year-old victim, identified as Mansi Bhoir, had disappeared in November last year. Police have arrested two accomplices of the main accused, who is already in jail in a separate case. The case was cracked after the police investigated another woman's murder case and identified the victim based on a tattoo and other features. The investigation revealed that the accused, Adil Sheikh, was frequently in touch with Mansi before her disappearance and was in the vicinity of the Kalwa creek on the night of November 4, when Bhoir's body was found. The police said that during their meeting, Sheikh pushed Mansi off the bridge after she resisted his sexual advances. He then called two associates who helped him push Mansi to death from the pillar. Her body was discovered some kilometres away. The two accomplices have been arrested, while the main accused is already in jail for attempted murder.
The incident came to light during a session on sexual offences against children organised in the college. During the discussion, a girl student looked depressed and when she was taken into confidence, she told counsellors about the 16-year-old victim, who is her friend, and ordeal she is going through.
The case was registered following a complaint filed by KP Sumesh, a local Communist Party of India leader, seeking legal action against Gopi for allegedly misusing an ambulance to reach the Pooram venue flouting police restrictions.
Ram Rahim, lodged in Rohtak's Sunaria Jail, is serving a 20-year sentence handed out to him in 2017 for allegedly raping two of his disciples.
The high court said the defence, if any, needs to be considered by the trial court on the basis of evidence.
The victim alleged that he was being sexually assaulted for nearly two years, they said.
Justice Manoj Kumar Ohri noted the prosecutor appearing in the case hadn't appeared on the last four to five occasions.
Justice DK Paliwal, in the order on Tuesday, said the applicant may be released on bail by imposing some conditions which may enthuse in him a sense of responsibility and pride for the country in which he was born and living.