Ncs News

The Bombay High Court has said that people convicted of child abuse do not deserve any leniency, adding that victims of such crimes often suffer life-long post-traumatic stress disorders. The court made the observation while rejecting the bail plea of a 75-year-old man convicted of sexually assaulting a six-year-old girl. It added that sexual crimes, especially against minors, are sinister.

The Rajasthan High Court has issued a notice to the Centre, asking why condom advertisements cannot be shown on TV between 6 am and 10 pm. The court was hearing a petition filed by a nonprofit organisation, which has called the order "arbitrary and meaningless". Earlier this month, the I&B Ministry had issued an advisory restricting timings of condom ads.

The Delhi High Court on Wednesday ordered a CBI probe into the Adhyatmik Vishwa Vidyalaya ashram in Delhi where girls and women were allegedly kept in illegal confinement. An NGO alleged that the girls were confined for 14 years or more and that some had lodged rape complaints with the police. It added that many had committed suicide as well.

Acquitting all accused in the 2G scam case, special court judge OP Saini on Thursday said that the public prosecutor failed miserably in proving their case. DMK MP Kanimozhi and former Telecom Minister A Raja were among those acquitted by the court. Notably, the trial began in 2011 after a CAG report alleged irregularities in 2G spectrum licence allotment.

The Delhi High Court has directed the AIIMS Hospital to constitute a medical board and examine a 15-year-old married pregnant girl seeking to abort her over 25-week pregnancy. The girl, whose husband was taken into custody under the provisions of the POCSO Act, later filed an affidavit seeking an abortion, saying she wants to pursue her studies.

In his 1,552-page judgement on the 2G spectrum case, Special Judge OP Saini said he waited seven years for permissible evidence in the case, and religiously sat in the open court every working day, foregoing summer vacations. Adding the wait was in vain as "not a single soul turned up", he said everybody went by public perception based on rumours.

The Delhi High Court has ordered a CBI probe into the illegal encroachment of public land due to the construction of a 108-foot Hanuman statue in Delhi's Karol Bagh. The court ordered a probe in the role of officials who allowed encroachment, calling it a case of "abuse of power". It directed officials to freeze the temple trust's bank accounts.

A Delhi court has observed that with the advent of media and internet, the idea of sex is being accepted as the culmination of love. This came after it awarded a 10-year prison sentence to a 26-year-old widower for raping a 14-year-old girl. The girl's consent to have sexual relations was without knowing its implications and consequences, the court added.

An Allahabad court has lifted a gag order against The Wire, allowing it to publish articles on the businesses of Amit Shah's son Jay Shah. Directing it to refrain from linking PM Narendra Modi to Shah's businesses, the court observed there was no justification for its article connecting a 16,000 times increase in Shah's business turnover to PM Modi's election.

In his 1,552-page judgment in the 2G spectrum case, special CBI judge OP Saini remarked that the high-profile nature of a case cannot be used as grounds for conviction without admissible evidence. He further said that the CBI cannot absolve itself from its duty to prove its case by "piggy riding on the so-called high magnitude" of the case.

Sadhvi Pragya Singh Thakur and Lieutenant Colonel Shrikant Purohit, accused in the 2008 Malegaon blast case, will now be tried for conspiracy to commit terror. A special National Investigation Agency court on Wednesday decided the earlier charges under the Maharashtra Control of Organised Crime Act were not applicable. The blast had killed at least six people and injured nearly 100.

The Madras High Court has dismissed a petition seeking a ban on midnight visits to Hindu temples in Tamil Nadu on New Year's Eve. Claiming that New Year celebrations are against the Tamil Hindu culture, petitioner A Ashvathaman said, "Saivite temples and Vaishnavite temples could be opened at midnight only on Maha Shivaratri and Vaikunda Ekadasi."

The Madras High Court on Wednesday asked the Centre why a law could not be enacted to make it compulsory for women to breastfeed their babies. Justice N Kirubakaran suggested that breastfeeding should be made a fundamental right of infants aged up to six months. He observed that even "divine nectar" could not be compared to mother's milk.

As RJD President Lalu Prasad Yadav's sentencing in the fodder scam case was postponed for the second consecutive day, special CBI judge Shivpal Singh on Thursday said he received phone calls from Lalu's men. Without specifying what was said in these phone calls, Singh told Lalu, "I got many references for you but don't worry, I will follow only law."

Rejecting a plea to examine the validity of Banaras Hindu University rules regarding curfew timing for girls, the Supreme Court has said the rules are for the safety of girl students. While the curfew timing imposed on girls is 8 pm, the curfew for boys is 10 pm. Petitioners also claimed girls were not allowed to participate in political activities.

During a hearing on the quantum of sentence in the fodder scam case, convict RJD President Lalu Prasad Yadav told the special CBI judge Shivpal Singh that it is "too cold in jail". To this, Singh quickly replied, "Then, play tabla". The pronouncement of Yadav's quantum of sentence was deferred for a second consecutive day on Thursday.

The Bombay High Court on Thursday questioned the need to confiscate food items from customers visiting cinemas during security-check and then forcing them to buy food from the theatres. It also directed the Maharashtra government to reply to a PIL challenging such prohibition. The plea claimed there was no legal or statutory provision prohibiting one from carrying personal food articles.

The Supreme Court on Thursday issued a notice to Centre and states questioning the non-implementation of the provisions of the Sexual Harassment of Women at Workplace Act by states and Union Territories. The Act mandates setting up of complaint committees at the district level and appointment of officers to deal with cases of sexual exploitation of women at work.

The Supreme Court on Friday asked the Central Pollution Control Board about the difference ban on the sale of firecrackers made on pollution in Delhi-NCR. The court asked CPCB to file its report to know whether pollution in the region decreased post the ban. The apex court had banned firecrackers sale in Delhi-NCR from October 9 to November 1, 2017.