The bench also comprising Justices Ravindra Bhat and Bela M Trivedi said that restricting ‘touch’ or ‘physical contact’ under Section 7 of POCSO to “skin to skin contact” will lead to absurd interpretations.Mumbai Live News: Supreme Court denied protection from arrest to former Mumbai Police commissioner Param Bir Singh in extortion case. The apex court asked Singh to disclose his whereabouts and scheduled the next hearing over the matter on November 22.
Supreme Court overturned Bombay High Court’s order on Thursday that said “skin-to-skin” contact was mandatory for the offence of sexual assault under theh Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act, 2012.
Mumbai on Wednesday recorded its second warmest November morning in the past 10 years with the minimum temperature at 26.5 degrees Celsius, only about a degree less than the highest minimum temperature of 27.4 degrees Celsius, recorded on November 4, 2018. Experts attribute the rise to the continuing influence of a low-pressure system in the Arabian Sea, that formed close to the Maharashtra coast.
Meanwhile, Maharashtra accounted of 1,003 new Covid-19 cases and 32 deaths, according to a health department official. Mumbai district had the highest number of infections with 272 new cases and two deaths. Currently Mumbai has the highest number of active cases, the tally is 3,568.
A fire broke out in the garage of an automobile showroom in suburban Powai, officials said. There was no report of any casualty, they said.
The blaze erupted in the garage of Sai Auto Hyundai Showroom, located on Saki Vihar Road in Powai, around 11 am, officials said.
Five fire engines and water tankers along with firefighters were rushed to the spot, a fire brigade official said. (PTI)
The Bombay High Court on Tuesday allowed a plea by Dewan Housing Finance Corporation Ltd (DHFL), and set aside the order of a special court rejecting the plea seeking discharge in the cheating and corruption case involving its promoters, Kapil and Dheeraj Wadhawan, and Yes Bank founder Rana Kapoor.
DHFL had argued that since it had undergone Corporate Insolvency Resolution Process (CIRP) and a new entity Piramal Capital and Housing FInance Ltd had taken over as successful applicant, it should be absolved and discharged from all earlier liabilities, including criminal proceedings registered against it prior to CIRP. However, the special CBI court had rejected its plea for discharge, prompting DHFL to approach the HC. Read more
The Supreme Court Thursday set aside the Bombay High Court order that held that “skin-to-skin” contact was necessary for the offence of sexual assault under the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act, 2012.
A bench headed by Justice U U Lalit observed that sexual intent is important in such cases and that it can’t be taken away from the purview of the Act. The purpose of the law cannot be to allow the offender to escape the meshes of the law, the apex court said.
The bench also comprising Justices Ravindra Bhat and Bela M Trivedi said that restricting ‘touch’ or ‘physical contact’ under Section 7 of POCSO to “skin to skin contact” will lead to absurd interpretations, and will destroy the intent of the Act that was brought to protect children. For instance, it pointed out that going by the HC interpretation, a person who uses gloves etc while groping a child cannot be held liable under the Act. Read more
A fire broke out in the garage of an automobile showroom in suburban Powai on Thursday, officials said.
There was no report of any casualty, they said.
The blaze erupted in the garage of Sai Auto Hyundai Showroom, located on Saki Vihar Road in Powai, around 11 am, officials said.
Five fire engines and water tankers along with firefighters were rushed to the spot and efforts were still on to douse the blaze, a fire brigade official said. (PTI)
A 14-year-old tribal girl was allegedly kidnapped and raped by a 40-year-old man in Maharashtra's Thane district, police said on Thursday.
The incident took place on Sunday in Bhiwandi taluka and the accused was arrested on Wednesday, they said.
The parents of the victim, belonging to neighbouring Palghar district, worked at a brick kiln and a family acquaintance had taken to girl to his house in Bhiwandi for doing domestic work, police said.
On Sunday, the accused, who knew the girl, told the family where she was working that he will take her to her parents' home in Palghar on his motorbike. (PTI)
A special NIA court here has allowed activist Anand Teltumbde, an accused in the Elgar Parishad-Maoist links case, to have a telephonic conversation with his mother for five minutes in the wake of the death of his brother Milind Teltumbde, a top Naxal leader, in an encounter with security forces last week.
Anand Teltumbde is currently lodged in Taloja jail following his arrest in the Elgar Parishad case in April 2020.
The court on Tuesday allowed his plea in which he sought a telephonic conversation with his mother. The detailed order was made available on Wednesday.
In his plea, Teltumbde said his 90-year-old mother is in a state of shock and bereavement after Milind's demise and therefore he may be permitted a telephone call. (PTI)
Mumbai district reported the highest 272 new infections during the day, followed by Pune district with 107 new cases.
Of eight administrative regions of Maharashtra, the Mumbai region reported the highest 461 new COVID-19 cases, followed by 306 in Pune region and 128 cases in Nashik region.
Aurangabad region reported 39 new cases, Latur 29, Kolhapur 22, Nagpur 13 and Akola region five cases. (PTI)
The result of the economic impact of the Covid-19 pandemic on families, migrants returning to villages and closure of affordable budget schools is reflecting in school education as the latest Annual Status of Education Report (ASER) underlines what could be a key outcome of these factors combined — a big jump in government school enrollment accompanied by a fall in private school enrollment.
Maharashtra has emerged as one of the top five states in the country where enrollment in government schools has risen sharply by 9.2 per cent since 2018. Read more
A local court Wednesday allowed an application filed by Mumbai Police for declaring former city police commissioner Param Bir Singh and two others as absconding accused in connection with an extortion case after the Crime Branch submitted that the three of them could not be found at any of their known addresses.
Following the order, Special Public Prosecutor Shekhar Jagtap said the police will now paste notices at Singh’s known addresses and print them in newspapers directing him to appear before the investigating officer within 30 days. In case of failure to do so, the police can initiate the process for the attachment of Singh’s properties. Read more