Overview
- Delhi High Court suspended convicted ex-MLA Kuldeep Singh Sengar’s jail term after citing the 1984 A.R. Antule precedent that legislators are not treated as public servants under IPC/POCSO for enhanced sentencing.
- Women’s groups staged demonstrations outside the Delhi High Court, petitions were filed in the Supreme Court challenging the order, and the Unnao survivor indicated she will also move the court.
- Legal experts, including former Justice S. Ravindra Bhat, urged a relook at statute language that excludes MPs and MLAs from the public servant category under IPC/POCSO, noting it can dilute minimum punishments compared with offences by officials.
- In Udaipur, police arrested CEO Jayesh along with Gaurav and his wife Shilpa in an alleged gangrape case, saying dashcam audio-video and medical findings showing injuries provide prima facie corroboration, with remand to be sought as the probe continues.
- In Bangladesh, communal anxiety deepened as police disputed a communal angle in the mob killing of Amrit Mondal while reporting arson at Hindu homes in Chattogram, and at least 20 were injured when an Islamist crowd attacked a planned James concert in Faridpur, forcing its cancellation; separately, Maharashtra civic contests are shaping into three alliances with active seat-sharing talks in Pune, and Apollo Micro Systems disclosed a ₹100.247 crore unmanned aerial systems order that lifted its stock over 3%.