Overview
- A Special POCSO court in Manjeri, Kerala, sentenced a stepfather and the child’s mother to 180 years’ rigorous imprisonment each and fined them ₹11.75 lakh apiece for assaults committed between 2019 and 2021, with directions for victim compensation and transfer to Tavanur Jail.
- In Surat, a POCSO court handed 20-year-old Ajay alias Rahul alias Dhiryo Anilbhai Mali a 20-year term and ordered ₹6 lakh compensation under Gujarat’s scheme, noting he abducted a minor and claimed a temple marriage while engaging in repeated sexual relations.
- A Special POCSO court in Indore sentenced 39-year-old Bharat Singh to 20 years under IPC Section 376(3) and POCSO Sections 5/6, recommended ₹2 lakh compensation to the survivor, and acquitted a co-accused for lack of evidence.
- Delhi Police apprehended three juveniles aged 13, 16 and 16 within hours for allegedly luring a nine-year-old boy to a rooftop and assaulting him, registered an FIR under Section 6 of the POCSO Act, produced the accused before the Juvenile Justice Board, and arranged counseling for the child.
- Amid these actions, the Supreme Court bench of Justices B.V. Nagarathna and R. Mahadevan issued notices to the Centre and states on concerns about misuse of POCSO and the need to balance child protection with avoiding the criminalisation of consensual adolescent behaviour.