POCSO Act | Complete Penetration Or Rupture Of Hymen Not Necessary To Prove Penetrative Sexual Assault: Gauhati High Court Reiterates

The Gauhati High Court has upheld the conviction of a man under Section 6 of the POCSO Act, observing that penetrative sexual assault does not necessarily require complete penetration or rupture of hymen, and that the victim's testimony in the present case was sufficient to sustain the conviction.The Court was hearing a criminal appeal filed by one Satish Ray, challenging his conviction...

Yogesh Goudar Murder: CBI Opposes In Karnataka HC Suspension Of Convicted Ex-Cop's Sentence, Says S.389(3) CrPC Doesn't Apply Once Appeal Filed

The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) on Tuesday (May 26) opposed the suspension of sentence sought by former police inspector Channakeshava B. Tingarikar, convicted for manipulating evidence and protecting the real perpetrators in the Yogesh Goudar murder case.Arguing before the Karnataka High Court, CBI submitted that the relief of bail under Section 389(3) CrPC applies only at the...

Ill-Treatment In Matrimonial Home Justifies Separate Residence Of Wife, Even If Husband Not Personally Guilty: Bombay HC Grants Maintenance

Torture or ill-treatment of the wife in her husband's house, or even when a wife cannot reasonably hope that she can live with dignity at her husband's house are some sufficient grounds for a wife to refuse to live with her husband and seek maintenance under section 125 of the Criminal Procedure Code (CrPC), the Bombay High Court held recently.Sitting at the Nagpur seat, single-judge...

Appellate Court Reversing Acquittal Must Itself Hear Convict On Sentence, Cannot Remand To Trial Court For Sentence Alone : Supreme Court

The Supreme Court on Tuesday (May 26) held that if an Appellate Court, while hearing an appeal against an acquittal, finds the accused guilty, then it cannot relegate the matter to the trial court for imposing the sentence. The Appellate Court itself has to hear the convict on sentence. “It can be seen from Section 386(a), Cr.P.C., that where in an appeal from an order of acquittal, the...

S.125 CrPC | Husband's Detention For Failure To Pay Maintenance Can't Become Indefinite Punitive Imprisonment: MP High Court

The Madhya Pradesh High Court has held that imprisonment in maintenance execution proceedings is merely a coercive mechanism intended to secure compliance and cannot be converted into indefinite punitive detention. The bench of Justice Himanshu Joshi ordered the release of a labourer who had remained incarcerated since October 2025 for non-payment of maintenance arrears to his wife and...

POCSO Case Can't Be Closed Merely Because DNA Excludes Accused As Child's Father: J&K&L High Court Orders SIT Probe

The Jammu & Kashmir and Ladakh High Court has refused to quash an FIR registered under the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act against a petitioner, even though a DNA report excluded him as the biological father of the child born to the minor victim.The Court expressed astonishment at the slipshod investigation and directed the Inspector General of Police, Jammu...

Superior Police Officer Can Order Further Investigation Before Filing Of Charge-Sheet: Rajasthan High Court

The Rajasthan High Court has made it clear that a superior Police officer has the authority to direct further investigation and permission for conducting further investigation is not required to be obtained from the Court, if the original charge-sheet is not submitted.The bench of Justice Anoop Kumar Dhand however clarified that after submission of the charge-sheet, such order of...

"Can't Sail In Two Boats": Rajasthan High Court Rejects Parallel Challenge To Cognizance And Framing Of Charges

The Rajasthan High Court has held that even though multiple remedies might exist with a litigant, once selection was made regarding the remedy to be pursued, that operated as a bar on simultaneous initiation of a parallel remedy.The bench of Justice Anoop Kumar Dhand opined that the aggrieved party could not be allowed to “sail in two boats” by availing parallel remedies for common...

“No Effort Was Made By Trial Judge To Analyse Evidence”: Calcutta High Court Acquits College Professor In POCSO Case

The Calcutta High Court has acquitted a Serampore College professor who had been convicted under the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences Act, holding that the prosecution failed to establish the “foundational facts” necessary to invoke the statutory presumption under Section 29 of the POCSO Act.A Division Bench of Justice Arijit Banerjee and Justice Apurba Sinha Ray observed that...

Probation Of Offenders Act Inapplicable In Serious POCSO Offences Punishable With Life Imprisonment: Delhi High Court

The Delhi High Court has held that the benefit of probation cannot be granted in serious offences under the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act which are punishable with imprisonment for life.A division bench of Justices Navin Chawla and Ravinder Dudeja passed the ruling while hearing arguments on sentencing after convicting a man for offences under Sections 363, 366 and...

CrPC | Accused Has Absolute Right To Use Section 161 Statements To Contradict Witnesses During Cross-Examination: Kerala High Court

The Kerala High Court, in a recent judgment, clarified that an accused has an absolute right to use the previous statements given by the witnesses to the investigating officer under Section 161 Cr.P.C. for the purpose of shaking the veracity of their evidence and making it untrustworthy.Justice A. Badharudeen held:“it is the absolute right of the accused to use previous statements...

Bombay High Court Grants Parole To POCSO Convict To Construct New House After Old One Demolished For Navi Mumbai Airport Project

The Bombay High Court recently granted 25 days parole to a man convicted under the stringent Protection Of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act, for constructing a new house, after his previous home was demolished by the Maharashtra Government following acquisition of the land parcel (on which his house stood) for the Navi Mumbai International Airport. Sitting at the Nagpur seat, a...