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.
IPL side Royal Challengers Bengaluru's under-fire pacer Yash Dayal has been accused of raping a minor in an FIR registered against him by Jaipur Police.
The minor was rescued after the Anti-Human Trafficking Unit of Mira-Bhayander Vasai-Virar police, in a joint operation with NGOs Exodus Road India Foundation and Harmony Foundation, raided a flat in Naigaon in Vasai in Palghar on July 26, the official said.
Any sexual act includes inappropriate touching, forcible disrobing, indecent gestures or remarks made with an intent to insult the modesty of a woman, a bench of Justice Urmila Joshi-Phalke said in the order passed on Monday.
The teenage girl was sexually assaulted and three women were robbed of gold ornaments by two motorbike-borne unidentified persons when the victims were travelling in a car in the wee hours of Monday on a highway in Daund in Pune district, a police official said.
A teacher accused of sexually assaulting a minor student claims he expressed his love for her and addressed her as his wife. She alleges the case is fabricated by the boy's mother.
Delhi police arrest 13 individuals, including minors, for the murder and sexual assault of a 14-year-old boy, allegedly in retaliation for informing on a rival gang member.
According to the police, the minor was gang-raped several times by her mother's boyfriend and his aide, both of whom are in their thirties, in Haridwar, Agra and Vrindavan between January and March this year.
The horrific crime, which resulted in the girl becoming pregnant, came to light on June 9 after she filed a complaint recently.
The commission, in its report submitted to the law ministry, said the amendments are necessary as such cases do not merit to be dealt with the same severity as the cases that were ideally imagined to fall under the POCSO Act.
A teacher has been arrested for allegedly sexually harassing 24 girl students at a government school in Sirmaur district of Himachal Pradesh, officials said on Monday.
Police sources said the girl's mother had, in the past, lodged over 50 complaints against various people including the then Bengaluru Police Commissioner Alok Kumar, and his staff, for allegedly manhandling her and abusing her.
Senior Bharatiya Janata Party leader B S Yediyurappa, facing a Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act charge, returned to Bengaluru on Saturday and said he will appear before the Criminal Investigation Department (CID) on June 17 for questioning.
A Class 10 student allegedly raped his eight-year-old neighbour in Madhya Pradesh's Bhind district, police said on Saturday.
Police in Thane have arrested a school principal and staff member after allegations that girl students were forced to strip to check for menstruation. The incident sparked outrage among parents, leading to protests and a police investigation.
The girl went to the boy's house in the afternoon to play when the accused lured her with a chocolate and raped her.
A sessions court in Indore has acquitted a bangle seller from a minority community, accused of molesting a minor girl, noting that the prosecution failed to establish its case even by 'leshmatra' (an iota).
The high court said the psychological impact on a POCSO case victim being present in court during the arguments is grave.
The convicted person, who sexually assaulted a minor girl in 2015, was sentenced to 10 years of rigourous imprisonment by a Special Judge at Eluru in West Godavari district in 2016, including a penalty of Rs 5,000 levied on him.
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 Bombay High Court has ruled that Pushpa Ganediwala, the former HC judge who had faced criticism for a series of controversial judgments in POCSO Act cases, is entitled to receive pension on par with a high court judge. Ganediwala was demoted as district sessions judge at the end of her additional judgeship in 2022 following an uproar over some judgments passed by her on the interpretation of what constitutes a sexual assault under the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act. She had filed a petition challenging a communication issued by the HC registrar declaring that she was not eligible for pension of a HC judge. The court quashed the communication and directed the registry to fix her pension with 6% interest from February 2022.
The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) has brought back Salman Rehman Khan, an alleged member of the Lashkar-e-Taiba, from Rwanda. Khan was wanted by the NIA for terror-related offences in Bengaluru. He was traced to Rwanda and returned to India on November 28, 2024. The return of Khan comes after similar operations in coordination with Interpol, where two other accused were brought back from Saudi Arabia.
The order was passed by Justice Ram Manohar Narayan Mishra on a revision petition filed by two persons who moved the court, challenging the order of a Special Judge of Kasganj by which the court had summoned them under Section 376 of IPC apart from other sections.
Legal experts had deplored the observation of the Allahabad high xourt on what constitutes a rape charge, calling for a restraint by judges and underlining the drop in public confidence in the judiciary due to such statements.
A bench of Chief Justice N V Ramana and Justice Manmohan also expressed its dissatisfaction with the affidavit filed by the Delhi government regarding what it has done so far on appointment of special prosecutors.
The police arrested the accused on Thursday and booked him under relevant sections of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita and the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences Act, an official said.
A court in Kerala has sentenced five men from Uttar Pradesh to life imprisonment and an additional 40 years in prison for the sexual assault of a 14-year-old girl from Kerala five years ago. The accused, who were migrant workers residing near the victim's home, were involved in the crime that occurred in 2020. They enticed the girl with the promise of a SIM card and then subjected her to sexual assault at various locations. The court also directed the convicts to pay compensation to the victim.
A special court in India has sentenced a man to "triple death sentence" for the rape and murder of a five-year-old girl last year. The court deemed the crime "rarest of rare" and declared the accused "extremely cruel and bestial." His mother and sister were also sentenced to two years in prison for helping to cover up the crime.
"Consensual sex has been in legal grey area because the consent given by minor cannot be said to be a valid consent in the eyes of law. The short question which arises is as to whether the petitioner (man) should be granted bail or not," the Delhi HC said.
The survivor's father claimed the family had been cheated by their lawyer who did not file an objection to Asaram's bail plea despite getting all the papers ready.
The observation came while setting aside an order of the Rajasthan high court which had quashed the FIR against a teacher who was accused of sexually molesting a 16-year-old girl at school in Rajasthan's Sawai Madhopur district.
The intention behind POCSO Act is to protect children from sexual exploitation but it was never meant to criminalise consensual romantic relationships between young adults, the Delhi high court has said.
A woman accused the India hockey player of sexually abusing her multiple times when she was a minor.
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.
Two persons were arrested for alleged voyeurism after some female students at a private engineering college in Medchal, near Hyderabad, accused the cooking staff of recording them in the hostel washrooms, police said on Sunday.
'If it is not reversed, it will set a dangerous precedent.'
A division bench of Justices Revati Mohite Dere and Prithviraj Chavan questioned as to how the police, that usually go to any extent to nab an accused, are unable to arrest them in this case.
Nearly 3,000 polling booths have been identified as sensitive, and special security arrangements, including drone surveillance, have been ensured at some of these locations.
The police said the ordeal began for the student in December 2022, when she was putting up at a city hostel. Assistant Commissioner of Police (Kalyanpur) Abhishek Pandey said the case was registered on Friday after she approached the Kalyanpur police station.
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