MINOR ACTS
Victim's Birth Certificate Registered 17 Years After Birth Cannot Automatically Establish Minority: Sikkim HC Acquits Man In POCSO Case
The Sikkim High Court has held that a birth certificate registered years after a person's birth cannot automatically be presumed to be correct when statutory requirements under the Registration of Births and Deaths Act, 1969, were not complied with. The division bench of Justice Meenakshi Madan Rai and Justice Bhaskar Raj Pradhan observed that the birth certificate was issued on April 5,...
SC/ST Act | Cognizance, Charge-Framing Orders Are Appealable U/S 14A, Can't Be Challenged Directly U/S 482 CrPC: Rajasthan HC
The Rajasthan High Court dismissed a petition challenging order of cognizance and framing charges under the SC/ST Act, 1989 (“the Act”) opining that these orders were appealable under Section 14A of the Act. The bench of Justice Anoop Kumar Dhand held that the order of taking cognizance and order of framing charges were not interlocutory in nature, and as per Section 14A of the Act, an...
Rajasthan HC Permits Medical Care To Asaram In Jail Granted In Earlier Orders; Rejects Plea For Temperature-Controlled Ward, Pvt Ambulance
Rajasthan High Court has directed that all the facilities, accommodations, permissions and medical arrangements that were made available to the rape convict, Asaram, by the earlier orders of high court and Supreme Court, shall continue to remain operative in the same manner, after his appeal against conviction was dismissed by court.Asaram had moved the high court seeking restoration of...
S.138 NI Act | Complainant Can Claim Benefit Of Presumptions After Proving Transaction, Execution Of Cheque In Convincing Manner: Kerala HC
The Kerala High Court has reaffirmed that the statutory presumptions available to complainants in cheque dishonour prosecutions under the Negotiable Instruments Act, 1881, can be invoked only after the complainant first establishes the underlying transaction and execution of the cheque through competent evidence.Justice A. Badharudeen delivered the judgment, while considering an appeal...
Supreme Court Lays Down Principles For Psychological Evaluation Of Children In Custody Disputes
The Supreme Court today laid down a set of broad principles for courts dealing with requests for psychological or psychiatric evaluation of children in custody, visitation and parental access disputes, holding that “minimum intrusion” into a child's life should be the norm and courts must remain sensitive to the risk of re-traumatisation.A bench of Justice Sanjay Karol and Justice N...
“Copy-Paste” Detention Orders Based On Authority's Dossiers Without Independent Evaluation Are Illegal: J&K&L High Court
The High Court of Jammu & Kashmir and Ladakh has held that detention orders passed under preventive detention laws merely by reproducing allegations contained in dossiers supplied by sponsoring authorities, without independent application of mind by the detaining authority, are illegal and unconstitutional. The Court observed that detaining authorities are expected to act neutrally...
Tacit Approval Of Minor Not Consent In Law But Has Bearing On Bail: J&K&L High Court Grants Bail In POCSO Matter
The High Court of Jammu & Kashmir and Ladakh has held that although consent of a prosecutrix is legally irrelevant in offences under the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences Act, 2012, cases involving romantic relationships between young adults where there may have been “tacit approval in fact, though not consent in law” for a sexual relationship are required to be viewed with...
Putting Hand Inside Minor Girl's Pant Amounts To 'Sexual Assault' U/S 7 Of POCSO Act: Orissa High Court
The Orissa High Court has held that the act of an accused putting his hand inside the pant of a minor girl/victim, even without proof of inserting finger into her vagina, amounts to 'sexual assault' within the ambit of Section 7 of the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences Act, 2012 ('the POCSO Act').Affirming the conviction and order of sentence recorded by the trial Court, a Single...
AP High Court Quashes Atrocity FIR, Says Private Monetary Dispute Can't Be Camouflaged As Caste‑Based Offences In Absence Of Ingredients
The Andhra Pradesh High Court has quashed criminal proceedings against a man accused of caste-based abuse under the SC/ST Act and insulting a woman's modesty, holding that the allegations did not disclose the essential ingredients of the offences alleged. The Court noted that the complaint did not allege that the purported caste-based insults were made "within public view" as required under...
'Left Free To Live As Spouses' : Supreme Court Quashes POCSO Conviction After Convict & Victim Marry
The Supreme Court recently set aside a conviction under the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences Act, 2012, after the accused and the victim arrived at a settlement by marrying each other and after the accused offered her compensation.A bench comprising Justice JK Maheshwari and Justice Atul S Chandurkar set aside the conviction invoking its special powers under Article 142 of...
UAPA | Delhi High Court Grants Bail To Activist Khurram Parvez In Alleged Terror Funding Case
The Delhi High Court on Wednesday granted bail to Kashmiri human rights activist Khurram Parvez in an alleged terror funding case registered by the National Investigation Agency (NIA) under UAPA. A division bench comprising Justice Navin Chawla and Justice Ravinder Dudeja allowed Parvez's appeal challenging a trial court order passed on December 17, 2024, denying him bail.The Court said that...