Tag: POCSO

Hyderabad gang rape case: High Court sets aside POCSO court order

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Hyderabad: Telangana High Court on Tuesday set aside an order of POCSO Court for treating one of the minor accused in the Jubilee Hills gang rape case as major.
On a petition filed by one of the minor accused challenging the POCSO Court order, the High Court delivered its judgment. With the High Court’s order, the sensational case will now be tried with four accused as majors and two accused as minors.
In September last year, the lower court had ruled that four of the five minors involved in the case can be tried as majors in view of the graveness of the crime.

Six accused including a major were arrested in June last year for the gang rape of a 17-year-old girl in a car in posh Jubilee Hills neighbourhood of Hyderabad.
The accused had trapped the victim after a daytime party at a bar and after offering a lift sexually assaulted her.
The crime was committed on May 28 but came to light only on May 31 after the victim’s father lodged a complaint with the police. The case had triggered national outrage.
Five accused including the son of a leader of the ruling Bharat Rashtra Samithi (TRS) have been charged with gang rape while sixth accused, who is the son of a legislator of Majlis-e-Ittehadul Muslimeen (MIM), is facing molestation charges.
Saduddin Malik and four minors were booked under Indian Penal Code (IPC) sections 376 D (gang rape), 323 (causing hurt), Section 5 (G) (gang penetrative sexual assault on child) read with Section 6 of Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act, 366 (kidnapping a woman) and 366 A (procuration of a minor girl) and Section 67 of Information Technology Act.

The sixth minor was not involved in rape but he kissed the victim in the car. He was booked under IPC Section 354 (assault or criminal force to woman with intent to outrage her modesty), 323 and Section 9 (G) read with 10 of POCSO Act.
On June 28, police filed a charge sheet both in Nampally Criminal Court and Juvenile Justice Board as five of the six accused in the case were minors.
The police, however, made a plea to the Juvenile Justice Board to allow the minors to be treated as majors for trial in view of the serious nature of the offence. In September, the Board gave its nod and later the POCSO Court also ruled in its favour.
All the accused are currently on bail.
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( With inputs from www.siasat.com )

April 25, 2023
Hyderabad police arrest black magician under POCSO Act

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Hyderabad: City police arrested a black magician on Friday under the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act, 2012 for inappropriately touching a minor.
On December 12, the police received a written complaint against 52-year-old Sha Ghulam Nakshband Hafeez Pasha who is known to practise black magic in Rahamathabad Shareef Dargah.
The complainant stated that three years ago she suffered from heart problems, breathing issues and weakness of nerves. Upon not receiving treatment that improved her symptoms, she was guided to perform prayers at Rahmathabad Shareef Dargah.
At the Dargah, two individuals, Rafiq and Rasool introduced her to the black magician, Hafeez Pasha. After he conducted the prayers, he was invited to perform prayers at her house in Hyderabad.
Under the pretext of prayers, Hafeez Pasha touched her inappropriately at her home. When she informed her parents about this, he deflected the accusation stating that her mental condition was not good.
With the help of her parents, she fixed hidden cameras in a room where he conducts the prayers. The next time he visited her house to perform the prayers and touched her inappropriately, the act was recorded.
The victim’s family confronted the black magician with the camera footage, after which he admitted guilt and promised to marry her.
The report said that as the date fixed for the marriage approached, he allegedly got himself admitted to Prime Hospital, Ameerpet to avoid the marriage.

She approached the police and requested them to take action as per the law.
A case has been registered against him under the POCSO law and he was arrested and remanded for judicial custody on Friday by the Langar house police.
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#Hyderabad #police #arrest #black #magician #POCSO #Act
( With inputs from www.siasat.com )

March 3, 2023
Delhi HC notice to Centre on PIL against compulsory reporting of POCSO cases

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New Delhi: The Delhi High Court on Tuesday asked the Centre to file its reply, within six weeks, on a PIL challenging provisions of Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (Pocso) Act, 2012, requiring compulsory reporting of sexual offences against minors.
A division bench of Chief Justice Satish Chandra Sharma and Justice Subramonium Prasad, dealing with lawyer Harsh Vibhore Singhal’s matter, issued notice on the petition and listed the case for pleadings to be complete before the Joint Registrar in July.
Singhal has sought “judicial invalidation” of various sections of the POCSO Act, as these violate minors’ right to give informed consent for not reporting the matter and are against Article 21 of the Constitution.
“… the law is well settled that neither law, nor police nor any court can force a sexual assault survivor to report an offence by filing an FIR and no police or court can force any minor in consensual sex to report her sexual activity. Thus, the impugned sections requiring mandatory reporting are untenable, arbitrary and unconstitutional and deserve to be set aside,” the petition contends.
The petitioner argued that these provisions deprive minors and grown-up women of seeking prenatal, reproductive, and sexual healthcare.
“…consensual sexual acts by under 18 minors fall squarely within the penumbra of the right to privacy which has also been recognised by a nine-judge SC bench in Puttaswamy v. Union of India”, the petitioner stated.
The bench was urged by Singhal to declare the challenged provisions “unconstitutional”.

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#Delhi #notice #Centre #PIL #compulsory #reporting #POCSO #cases
( With inputs from www.siasat.com )

February 21, 2023
Arrest warrant against ex-Indian women’s football coach in POCSO case

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New Delhi: A Delhi court has issued an arrest warrant against former Indian U-17 women’s football coach Alex Mario Ambrose accused of sexually abusing a woman athlete in June 2022 when the team was training in Norway.
The Dwarka court issued the warrant under Section 70 (compel the appearance or arrest of any person or search any place that the court requires) of the Code of Criminal Procedure (CrPC).
The case attracts the provisions of the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences Act (POCSO) and it was registered against him last year.
The Additional Session Judge during the hearing also issued notice to the surety on breach of the bond for not adhering to the conditions imposed for bail.
The court listed the matter for further hearing on February 25.
Ambrose has been suspended and called back from Norway for alleged “misconduct” with a minor player during a training tour to Europe in June last year.
The 40-year-old, who was suspended from the national governing body of football in India, is accused of alleged sexual misconduct which took place with a minor girl when the Indian team was in Europe preparing for the FIFA U-17 Women’s World Cup.
Claiming “tarnishing his reputation”, Ambrose denied the sexual misconduct charges and sent a legal notice to the All India Football Federation (AIFF).

The notice, issued by his lawyer, called the AIFF’s action “arbitrary and unconstitutional”.
He had said: “My client was forced to admit to what he has never done by putting him under fear, duress and coercion. My client was not allowed to offer any explanation nor was my client intimated or informed about the charges/allegations/accusations levelled against by him.”
The U-17 women’s team had featured in the World Cup in India, which was held from October 11 to 30 last year.
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#Arrest #warrant #exIndian #womens #football #coach #POCSO #case
( With inputs from www.siasat.com )

February 11, 2023
Men marrying girls below 14 yrs to be booked under POCSO in Assam: CM

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Guwahati: The Assam Cabinet on Monday decided to book men who marry girls below 14 years in the state under the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act, Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma said.
Assam has a “high” rate of maternal and infant mortality and the primary cause for that is child marriage, the CM said.
“We have decided to make the campaign against child marriage a priority in governance and we hope to end it in the next five years”, Sarma said at a press conference after the Cabinet meeting.
The state has an average of 31 per cent marriages in the “prohibited age”, Sarma said.
POCSO Act of 2012 defines a child as an individual under the age of 18 and it criminalises sex between an under-age child and an adult.
A husband cannot “touch” his wife if she is below the age of 14 as this amounts to sexual offence and the male partner is liable to be sentenced to life imprisonment under POCSO Act in Assam, Sarma said.
Asked about the legal action if both partners are below the age of 14, the chief minister said that in that case the marriage will be declared illegal and the boy will be sent to a juvenile home as minors cannot be tried in court.
Those marrying girls in the age group of 14-18, will be tried under the Prohibition of Child Marriage Act, 2006, and necessary steps will be taken against them under this law, he said.

The legal age for marriage is 18 years for women and 21 for men.
The police have been directed to conduct a massive crackdown against child marriage, carry out an awareness campaign against the problem, and take legal action against those who are violating norms in this regard, the chief minister said.
The Gram Panchayat secretaries will be designated as Child Marriage Prevention (Prohibition) Officers and it will be their duty to file a complaint against any child marriage taking place in their area, Sarma said.
A massive drive against child marriage will be launched in the state and the police along with the district authorities have been asked to investigate the cases and counsel people against child marriage.
Dhubri with 50 per cent cases and South Salmara with 44.7 per cent top the list of districts with a high rate of child marriages.
“We minutely analysed the National Family Health Survey data of 2019-20 and found that 11.7 per cent of girls are burdened with early motherhood and though the state is doing well in other health parameters, maternal and child mortality is a matter of concern”, Sarma said.
“This is a neutral and secular action. It will be carried out across the state and is not targeted against any community. There is no need to give any political colour to it”, he said.
The Karnataka government has already engaged and appointed Child Protection Officers and ‘this has been an inspiration for us. They have prevented 11,000 child marriages and booked 10,000 cases’, Sarma said.
Welcoming the chief minister’s announcement, All Assam Minority Students Union (AAMSU) president Rejaul Karim Sarkar expressed hope that it does not remain a mere policy decision.
“We are working to end child marriage in the minority-dominated areas and had submitted several memoranda to them but did not get any response from the authorities”, he said.
Just asking the police to file cases will not solve the problem but all sections of society must be involved to campaign against child marriage so that the people are convinced that it is a wrong practice.
“Educational facilities in the backward areas must be improved as this alone can bring awareness among the younger generation who will then refuse to get married below the permissible age, he said.
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#Men #marrying #girls #yrs #booked #POCSO #Assam
( With inputs from www.siasat.com )

January 23, 2023
Gujarat: BJP MLA among two booked under POCSO Act

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Ahmedabad: Bharatiya Janata Party MLA Gajendrasinh Parmar and one Mahesh Patel from Himatnagar have been booked by Rajasthan Police under POCSO Act for sexual assault on a minor girl.
Victim’s mother from Ahmedabad city in her complaint has stated, she and her family had family relations with Gajendrasinh Parmar, a political leader from Gujarat.
She alleged that during a tour to Jaisalmer in November 2020, Gajendrasinh and Mahesh had tried to sexually assault her minor daughter near Abu Road. She also quarrelled with Gajendrasinh and Mahesh over the matter.
In this connection, she had attempted to register a complaint against the accused in the past, but the police did not entertain, so she approached the Sirohi court in Rajasthan. On the court order, the complaint was registered on Friday afternoon.
Gajendrasinh Parmar is BJP’s sitting MLA and in the last government he was a minister, said the victim’s mother.
The complainant stated that earlier she had lodged a complaint with Ahmedabad Police, after which she started receiving threats, because of which she even attempted suicide in 2021.
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#Gujarat #BJP #MLA #among #booked #POCSO #Act
( With inputs from www.siasat.com )

January 21, 2023