The Bombay High Court declined to hand interim custody of a girl to her biological parents from a neighbour couple who had raised her since infancy, holding that the welfare of the child, not the rights of the rival claimants, is paramount, and that uprooting a settled ten-year-old from the only home she has known […]
The Supreme Court quashed a POCSO case against a schoolteacher accused of hitting inattentive girl students, holding that corporal punishment, however inappropriate, does not amount to “aggravated sexual assault” without sexual intent, and warning that a wrongful POCSO accusation can be a “death knell” for a teacher. New Delhi: The Supreme Court has quashed criminal […]
The Supreme Court reduced a man’s 20-year POCSO sentence to 10 years, holding that the victim’s age was not proved to the strict standard the law requires, so the child-specific offence could not stand, but confirming that the rape itself was conclusively established and convicting him under Section 376 IPC instead. New Delhi: The Supreme […]
The Supreme Court has dismissed an electricity distribution company’s appeal over a Rs 57.74 lakh minimum-consumption demand raised in 2007 for a 1998 period, holding the claim time-barred, and reaffirming that a power utility cannot recover dues by disconnection beyond the two-year limitation under Section 56(2) of the Electricity Act. New Delhi: The Supreme Court […]
The Patna High Court has quashed the State Bank of India’s decision treating a long-serving officer as having “voluntarily resigned” for staying away on medical grounds, holding that absence compelled by illness is not wilful abandonment and that the Bank acted arbitrarily and in breach of natural justice. Patna: The Patna High Court has set […]
The Allahabad High Court has ordered the production of a 31-year-old man before it on September 16, on a habeas corpus plea alleging that he is being illegally detained by his father after he converted to Islam and married, with the State authorities said to have facilitated the detention. Prayagraj: The Allahabad High Court has […]
The Karnataka High Court quashed an assault case against a police inspector accused of berating a colleague over a sports meet, holding his conduct had a nexus with official duty, but refused to quash proceedings against a Superintendent of Police accused of hurling a paperweight that injured the officer. Bengaluru: The Karnataka High Court has […]