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The Supreme Court on Tuesday stayed trial proceedings against former Karnataka chief minister BS Yediyurappa in a sexual harassment case filed under the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences Act. A bench comprising Chief Justice Surya Kant and Justice Joymalya Bagchi passed the interim order while hearing Yediyurappa's plea challenging the Karnataka High Court's refusal to quash the case. Issue notice. Meanwhile, trial proceedings shall remain stayed, CJI Kant said. The bench said the notice was being issued primarily to consider remanding the matter back to the high court. Senior advocate Sidharth Luthra, representing Yediyurappa, said the high court had ignored key evidence and failed to consider statements suggesting that nothing as such happened during the alleged incident. There are certain statements which prosecution suppresses the high court ignored facts. He has been chief minister four times, Luthra said. How can you compel the high court to hold a mini trial, the
India has shown a 94 per cent rise in reported sexual offences against children under POCSO between 2017 and 2022, from 33,210 to 64,469 cases, but despite the rising numbers, the prosecution rate remains above 90 per cent, signalling stronger enforcement and reporting mechanisms, according to a new report. The Childlight Global Child Safety Institute, hosted by the University of Edinburgh and the University of New South Wales, this week launched the findings from its latest Into the Light Index 2025, describing the situation as a "human tragedy of global proportions". According to the Into the Light Index 2025, India has shown a 94 per cent rise in reported sexual offences against children under POCSO (Protection of Children from Sexual Offences Act) between 2017 and 2022, from 33,210 to 64,469 cases. "Despite rising numbers, the country's prosecution rate remains above 90 per cent, signalling stronger enforcement and reporting mechanisms. India stands out in South Asia for the dep
The Supreme Court has been urged by amicus curiae and senior advocate Indira Jaising to read down the statutory age of consent from 18 to 16 years. Jaising, who is assisting the top court in "Nipun Saxena v. Union of India" case, has filled her written submissions challenging the blanket criminalisation of sexual activity involving adolescents aged 16 to 18 under the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences Act (POCSO), 2012 and Section 375 of IPC. She has argued the current law criminalises consensual romantic relationships among adolescents and violates their constitutional rights. Jaising said the legal framework wrongly equates consensual relationships between adolescents with abuse, ignoring their autonomy, maturity, and capacity to consent. There is no rational reason or empirical data to justify the increase in the age of consent from 16 to 18 years, Jaising submitted, noting that the age had remained at 16 for over 70 years until it was raised by the Criminal Law ...
With a 10 per cent decline in rape and POSCO cases, the national capital saw an 8.38 per cent decline in the overall crime in the first half of 2025 compared to the same period last year, according to Delhi Police data. Marking a drop of about 10,000 cases, from January 1 to June 30, 2025, a total of 1,18,822 cases were registered under the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS) and Indian Penal Code (IPC), compared to 1,29,693 cases in the same period of 2024, the data showed. Heinous crimes such as murder, rape, robbery and kidnapping fell by 13.13 per cent compared to 2023 and 10.39 per cent in contrast to 2024, according to the data. The data showed cases of murder rose from 241 last year to 250 in 2025, whereas rape and Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) cases declined by about 10 per cent. According to the data, crimes against women like molestation and eve-teasing also declined by nearly 11 per cent and 12.5 per cent, respectively. Snatching incidents fell by 25.97
The Delhi High Court has asked hospitals in the national capital to refrain from demanding ID proofs of rape survivors seeking termination of their pregnancy on orders of courts. Justice Swarana Kanta Sharma also underlined the pressing need for "clear, practical and sensitive" medical protocols for such survivors, particularly minors. Lack of clarity on procedures, insistence on identity documents, and the delay in carrying out necessary medical examinations such as ultrasound have all contributed to the further distress of the victim in this case, the court said. "Hospitals and medical institutions must be sensitised to the fact that cases involving victims of sexual assault, especially minor girls, require a more responsive and sensitive approach," the court said on May 29. Medical protocols, it said, must align not only with statutory obligations, but also with compassion, practicality, and an understanding of the unique challenges that survivors of sexual violence face. "Wher
A court here on Monday accepted a closure report of the Delhi Police, seeking to cancel a case filed by a wrestler accusing former Wrestling Federation of India (WFI) chief Brij Bhushan Sharan Singh of sexual harassment when she was a minor. "Cancellation accepted," Additional Sessions Judge Gomti Manocha said. During an in-chamber proceeding held on August 1, 2023, the "minor" had told the judge who was previously holding the court that she was satisfied with Delhi Police's investigation in the case and was not opposed to the closure report. Delhi Police on June 15, 2023, filed the report seeking cancellation of the case involving the girl after her father made a startling claim midway through the probe that he had made a false complaint of sexual harassment against Singh to get back at him for perceived injustice to the girl. The police had recommended dropping the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act case against Singh but charged him with sexual harassment an
The Allahabad High Court has observed that the Prevention of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act, which was enacted to protect children under the age of 18 years from sexual exploitation, has now become a tool for their exploitation. While hearing a bail application, Justice Krishan Pahal stressed that the Act was never meant to criminalise consensual romantic relationships between adolescents and said the fact of a consensual relationship borne out of love should be considered while granting bail. The court said it would amount to the perversity of justice if the statement of the victim was ignored and the accused was left to suffer in jail. The court made these observations while granting bail under the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS) and POCSO Act to an 18-year-old boy who was booked for allegedly raping a 16-year-old girl. The applicant Raj Sonkar was arrested in March this year. His counsel contended before the court that it was a case of consensual relationship and that .
The Karnataka High Court has said that the entire criminal justice system was put to shame as the trial in a case of rape and murder of a five-year-old girl has been pending for the past seven years. The Protection Of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act, 2012, specifically mandates conclusion of the trial within a year, as far as possible. The High Court observed that delay in such cases, where the offences are heinous based on facts that are 'horrendous', is a sad reflection of the legal and judicial system. It also pointed out that though Section 35(2) of the POCSO Act mandates completion within one year, there are many cases pending before the trial courts concerned. Justice M Nagaprasanna made these observations while stating that though cognisance in the criminal case was taken against the two accused persons in 2017 itself, the offenders are yet to be brought to justice. One of the accused, Chandana, had moved the High Court for recalling nine witnesses for ...
A teacher of physical education and seven others have been arrested in connection with the sexual harassment of a 12-year-old girl student at a private school in Pimpri Chinchwad in Pune, police said on Saturday. Based on a complaint lodged by the girl's parents at Nigdi police station, the police arrested the accused on Friday, an official said. The teacher was previously jailed on the charges of molestation, but the school reinstated him after his release, he said. According to the complaint, the teacher had been allegedly sexually harassing the girl for the last two years, the official said. "The accused allegedly touched the girl inappropriately during the PE classes and would wait for her outside the women's washroom. He also threatened her on multiple occasions," he said. The accused have been booked under sections 74 (assault or use of criminal force with intent to outrage a woman's modesty), 78 (stalking), 79 (word, gesture, or act intended to insult a woman's modesty), 35
Questioning veteran BJP leader B S Yediyurappa's "moral right" to demand his resignation in connection with the Mysuru Urban Development Authority (MUDA) site allotment 'scam', Chief Minister Siddaramaiah on Wednesday urged that the former should retire from public life as he is an accused in a Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act case. Yediyurappa had recently demanded that Siddaramaiah has to resign before the BJP-JD(S)' protest march from Bengaluru against the MUDA site allotment 'scam' reaches Mysuru. The week-long Bengaluru-Mysuru padayatre (foot march) has sought to highlight the alleged fraudulent allotment of sites to land losers by MUDA, including to Siddaramaiah's wife Parvathi. "Yediyurappa has been accused in a POCSO case, chargesheet has been filed. Because of the court's mercy he is outside and not in jail. One cannot get bail in such cases," Siddaramaiah said. Addressing reporters here, he said, "What moral right does Yediyurappa have? At this age
Granting bail to a man who allegedly eloped with and married a minor girl, the Allahabad High Court has expressed concern over the POCSO Act being "misused" in cases involving consensual romantic relationships between teenagers. Justice Krishan Pahal said the challenge lies in distinguishing between genuine cases of exploitation and those involving consensual relationships. "While the POCSO Act's primary objective is to protect children under the age of majority (18) from sexual exploitation, there are cases where it has been misused, particularly in consensual romantic relationships between teenage persons " the court said in its order dated July 3. "The challenge lies in distinguishing between genuine cases of exploitation and those involving consensual relationships. This requires a nuanced approach and careful judicial consideration to ensure justice is served appropriately," it said. Granting bail to the accused, Satish alias Chand, Justice Pahal said, "Admittedly, the age of