The Distinction Between Section 7 Of The POCSO Act And Section 354 Of IPC

Correctness of the Bombay High Court judgment ( Nagpur Bench) in Satheesh Vs State of Maharashtra in Criminal Appeal 161/ 2020 decided on 19.01.2021 is highly doubted. The court held that touching a child over her clothes will not attract an offence under the POCSO Act. At the same time it held that it attracts an offence under 354 IPC and convicted the accused thereunder for a period of 1 year. The finding of the court on this aspect is as follows : " Evidently, it is not the case of...

Artificial And Unreasonable Veil of Legal Protection- A Critic of Bombay High Court's POCSO Judgment

"I did not punch your stomach. I punched your t-shirt"- My brother, after punching my stomach. In a cruel irony, the Bombay High Court chose the National Girl Child Day to deliver an absurd interpretation of the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences Act, 2012 (hereinafter referred to as 'POCSO'). One need not be trained in law to understand that physical contact with breasts would not be limited to 'skin to skin' contact. However, according to the Bombay High Court, grabbing a...

Touchy Interpretation Of Child Sexual Assault By Bombay High Court

The Bombay High Court, in a controversial order passed last week, held that groping a child's breasts without 'skin-to-skin contact' would amount to molestation under the Indian Penal Code but not the graver offence of 'sexual assault' under the Protection of Children from Sexual Offenses (POCSO) Act.As per Section 7 of POCSO Act, whoever, with sexual intent touches the vagina, penis, anus or breast of the child or makes the child touch the vagina, penis, anus or breast of such person or any...

Increased Threshold: Magical Figure For Allottees Under The Insolvency And Bankruptcy Code, 2016

The status of homebuyers as a class of financial creditors and their right to initiate the Corporate Insolvency Resolution Process (CIRP) against the builder/developer under the Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code (IBC or Code) had traversed a very long journey which witnessed various legislative amendments and Supreme Court's decision (Chitra Sharma versus Union of India & Pioneer Infrastructure versus Union of India) on the constitutionality of those amendments. This journey of...

Maskless Invigilators, No Temperature Checks, Disregard For Social Distancing: How BCI Organised AIBE During A Pandemic

After 15 months, the Bar Council of India finally organised the All India Bar Examination through the physical mode on January 24. The exam, which is organised twice a year, was postponed multiple times in 2020 due to the COVID19 pandemic, and with BCI claiming that it was not feasible to organise the same through the online mode. However, as the exam finally took place, law graduates appearing for it reported complete disregard for the COVID19 guidelines at the examination centres. In...

Two Supreme Court Judgments Killed The Working Class & Converted India Into A Country Of Slaves: Colin Gonsalves In KG Kannabiran Lecture

[This lecture, originally titled "Educate, Agitate and Litigate" was delivered on 11 January 2021 as part of the KG Kannabiran Lectures on Law, Justice and Human Rights – organised by the family of KG Kannabiran (1929-2010) to celebrate his life, work and its futures]. Abstract: Senior Advocate Colin Gonsalves speaks on challenges in our times and the way ahead – reflecting on his long years in labour courts, with trade uinion movements and as a human rights advocate.Dear...

Munawar Faruqui's Case- Misuse Of Section 295A Of Penal Code And An Aggravated Insult On Free Speech

Having regard to the ingredients of the offence created by the impugned section, there cannot, in our opinion, be any possibility of this law being applied for purposes not sanctioned by the Constitution- Supreme Court on S.295A IPC in Ramji Lal Modi v. State of U.P [(1957) S.C.R. 860]

The Puzzling Dismissal Of Aadhaar Review Despite Pendency Of Larger Bench Reference On Money Bill Issue

The Supreme Court, by 4:1 majority, dismissed the review petitions challenging the Aadhaar verdict.The majority order, which starts by rejecting the prayer for open Court/personal hearing of Review Petition(s), is very brief and non-speaking. It only 'hastens' to add that change in the law or subsequent decision/judgment of a coordinate or larger Bench by itself cannot be regarded as a ground for review. The 'subsequent decision/judgment of a coordinate or larger Bench' is an indirect reference...

A Short And Telling History Of Farm Protection Laws

One of the most enduring and perpetuating myths is that industrial development takes place at the cost of agriculture. Nothing can be farther than the truth as is illustrated in the legislative history of Japan. LEGISLATIVE HISTORY OF JAPAN Japan was in the throes of the winter of 1945-46. It had surrendered to the Allied forces. Japan had probably the most debilitating feudal system, with the highest concentration of land and a vastly impoverished peasantry. General Douglas...

Responsibility Of The Custodes And The Committee On Farm Laws

The parliament represents the 'sovereign will of the people' and in law there is a 'presumption of validity' in favour of legislations enacted by the Parliament/Legislatures(as has also been held in a plethora of judgments). Our history has never witnessed such an extraordinary stay of implementation of Acts of Parliament as has been granted without stating them to be prima facie extra constitutional. The presumption of validity in favour of legislations is what prevents the courts from...

An Ongoing Struggle For Women's Freedoms

Enactment of 'anti-love jihad' laws across India, not just criminalises love, but robs a woman of her individuality and independent existence. Overlooking their capabilities, the government of today seeks to shatter the choices and freedoms of Indian women by confining them to the domestic sphere, even deciding who to love and live with. Dr. Rukhmabai, India's first woman physician, faced something similar in 1885. She was called 'immoral' and 'anti-Hindu' for her bold...

Giving Freedom Some Breathing Space: The Allahabad High Court's Landmark Judgment On Notice Under Special Marriage Act

Yesterday, a single judge of the Allahabad High Court handed down an important judgment reading down Sections 4 & 5 of the Special Marriage Act, which requires couples to notify Marriage Officers one month in advance of their marriage, and for Marriage Officers to publicise such a notification. The SMA allows for any person to "object" to the marriage on the basis that it (allegedly) violates provisions of the Act (Section 7). The case – Safiya Sultana v State of UP – came to the Court as a...