Overview
- Setting aside an April 2025 Allahabad High Court order, a bench led by Justices BV Nagarathna and R Mahadevan cancelled bail in the Shamli case, ordered the accused to surrender within two weeks, and directed an expedited trial.
- In its Shamli ruling, the Court called the allegations heinous, flagged a grave risk of witness intimidation and evidence tampering, and held that victim safety and the integrity of the trial must govern bail decisions under POCSO.
- In a separate judgment authored by Justice Sanjay Karol, the Court held that high courts cannot mandate medical age‑determination tests at the bail stage and that questions of age are matters for trial, not for bail courts.
- The Court clarified that bail courts may only take a prima facie view based on documentary age proof and must avoid conducting mini‑trials or prescribing blanket investigative protocols.
- Noting repeated misuse of POCSO, the Court asked the Law Ministry to consider a ‘Romeo‑Juliet’ clause and mechanisms to prosecute vindictive complaints, and directed circulation of its judgment to the Law Secretary and the Allahabad High Court registrar.