Overview
- The Allahabad High Court upheld conviction in the rape and murder of a five‑month‑old but commuted the trial court’s death sentence to imprisonment for the convict’s natural life without remission.
- A division bench of Justices Rajnish Kumar and Rajeev Singh said the case was proven through a chain of circumstantial evidence, noted no criminal history or premeditation, and flagged the absence of probation, jail or psychological reports.
- A special POCSO court in Varanasi sentenced Irshad to death for raping and murdering an eight‑year‑old in 2024, finding the crime inhuman and severely harmful to society.
- In Kerala, the Manjeri POCSO court imposed a cumulative 170‑year term, to run concurrently for an effective 40 years, on a father for repeated aggravated sexual assault of his 11‑year‑old daughter, along with a Rs 10.7 lakh fine.
- A Kendrapara POCSO court in Odisha gave autorickshaw driver Swayam Prakash Nayak 20 years’ rigorous imprisonment for raping an eight‑year‑old and directed initiation of Rs 6 lakh compensation to the survivor.