News archive

The Allahabad High Court declared unconstitutional a scheme provision that made an injury report indicating penetrative sexual assault mandatory for claiming financial assistance, reported Hindustan Times.

• A division bench held that the condition violated Article 14 of the Constitution as manifestly arbitrary.
• The court directed authorities to release three lakh rupees to a minor survivor within ten days.

The judgment noted that an injury report cannot be treated as the exclusive means of establishing penetrative sexual assault.

The Punjab and Haryana High Court stayed communications from the Mohali district administration asking private schools to deploy teachers for Census duty, according to Hindustan Times.

• The order came on a plea from the Mohali private unaided schools association against deployment.
• The court observed that statutory provisions do not prima facie include teachers exclusively employed in private unaided schools.

The court posted the matter for further hearing on February 10, 2027.

According to Hindustan Times, Muskan Rastogi and Sahil Shukla have filed criminal appeals in the Allahabad High Court against their conviction and death sentence handed down by a Meerut trial court.

• The trial court had convicted the duo on September 30 and sentenced them to death on October 14, along with a fine of 50,000 rupees each.
• The convicts argued in their appeal that the prosecution relied entirely on circumstantial evidence without producing valid purchase receipts or CCTV footage.

The appellants stated that the trial court decision was based on speculation and pointed to alleged contradictions in witness statements regarding weapon and cement purchases.

The Allahabad High Court has sought the prescribed consent form signed by the guardian of a 13-year-old rape survivor before a surgical procedure was performed, as reported by Hindustan Times.

• The bench expressed surprise over the absence of the prescribed declaration form bearing the signature of the patient's caretaker before the surgery.
• Hospital officials and the additional advocate general acknowledged that a prescribed form was available for obtaining signatures for surgeries on minors.

The minor had approached the high court seeking permission to terminate her pregnancy after it crossed the statutory 24-week threshold.

The Supreme Court set aside a Patna High Court order that had cancelled criminal proceedings against a man accused of murder in a boy's drowning death.

• The top court noted that two witnesses saw the accused fleeing from the scene.
• The accused had taken the boy from his home for a walk on May 12, 2020.

The court stated that a postmortem report showing drowning cannot automatically be treated as a natural accident without investigating surrounding circumstances.

The Supreme Court directed the Rajasthan government to seal and dismantle all illegal discharge points into the Jojari-Luni-Bandi river system and recover environmental compensation from polluters, according to Hindustan Times.

• The court ordered authorities to take action against landowners and state officials responsible for lapses.
• It called for a proactive approach to anticipate environmental risks instead of reacting only after violations occur.

The court directed the state to conduct a technical survey of all bridges and road crossings to identify structures impeding natural river flows.

The Karnataka High Court directed police to avoid mechanically registering cases over social media posts and ensure that an FIR does not automatically lead to an arrest, Hindustan Times reported.

• The court emphasized that the effect of words must be judged by the standards of reasonable and strong-minded people.
• Police must check whether a complaint discloses essential ingredients of an offence before filing an FIR.

The guidelines direct police to conduct a preliminary inquiry under Section 173(3) of the BNSS wherever legally permissible.