Overview

• A bench of Justices Prashant Kumar Mishra and Manmohan characterised the incest allegations as shocking and upheld the framing of charges by the Bombay High Court
• The former judicial officer is charged under Sections 7, 8, 9(l), 9(n), and 10 of the POCSO Act alongside Section 354 of the IPC for aggravated and incestuous sexual abuse
• Prosecutors allege the abuse occurred between May 2014 and 2018 and led to an FIR filed on January 21, 2019, in Bhandara, Maharashtra
• Defense counsel argued the complaint was driven by ongoing matrimonial litigation and noted the judge’s father’s subsequent suicide, but the court rejected these assertions
• With the FIR intact, the case will now move forward to trial in a specially designated POCSO court