Categoies
Supreme Court
Divorced wife can claim maintenance despite desertion
The Supreme Court, upholding an order of the Himachal Pradesh High Court, granted maintenance to a divorced wife who had deserted her husband. Her husband had obtained divorce on the ground of desertion, and opposed her maintenance petition on the strength of an exception under Sec. 125(4) of the Criminal Procedure Code. This subsection states […]
Court refuses permission to abort 27 week old foetus
Developing a confusing jurisprudence on the right of women to terminate a pregnancy after 20 weeks, the Supreme Court refused to allow a woman who had been pregnant for 27 weeks to abort the foetus. The woman had petitioned to the Court seeking exemption from the 20 week rule under the Medical Termination of Pregnancy […]
High Courts directed to Implement the POCSO Act
Noting the non-implementation of Section 32 of the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences Act (POCSO), the Supreme Court has directed High Courts of 12 states and two Union territories to take suo motu action and appoint special public prosecutors to deal with cases of child sexual abuse. Section 32 of the POCSO Act requires […]
Government asked to review its position on conjugal relations involving a minor
The Supreme Court has asked the central government to examine the need to amend a provision in the Indian Penal Code (IPC) that provides immunity to a man from being prosecuted for having sexual intercourse with his minor wife. This exception to Section 375 in the IPC grants immunity to a man for having sexual […]
Notice issued to social media sites on inaction over availability of rape videos
The Supreme Court has asked search engine and social media websites like Google and Facebook to explain why their platforms have been hosting illegal activities like rape videos. A notice has been issued to service providers to not allow subscribers to circulate objectionable material on their websites. The reported cases of cyber crimes have surged […]
Constitution of all-India birth database to check female foeticide ordered
A Supreme Court bench has passed 16 directions to ensure effective implementation of the Pre-conception and Pre-natal Diagnostic Techniques (Prohibition of Sex Selection) Act and rules under it. All states and the Union Territories in the country have been asked to maintain a centralized database of civil registration records so that information can be made […]
Governments directed to enforce provisions of SC/ST Act strictly
Responding to a petition by voluntary organizations lamenting the non-implementation of the Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes (Prevention of Atrocities) Act, 1989, the Supreme Court took cognizance of the fact that no special officers, nodal officers or protection cells had as yet been set up for the protection of members of the SC and ST […]
Regulation of advertisement relating to sex-selection directed
In ongoing hearings before the Supreme Court pursuant to the discussion on sex-selection, the Union government had submitted that despite auto-blocking a list of words, one could still avail of information pertaining to gender-tests on the internet. The respondent companies suggested that such searches ought to be protected under the right to freely access information. […]
Abortion in the 24th week of pregnancy permitted
In a case where the petitioner apprehended danger to her life after recognizing that her fetus was diagnosed with ‘anencephaly’, which leaves foetal skull bones unformed, the Supreme Court relied on the report of a medical board to warrant the conclusion that continuing the pregnancy posed a risk to the life of the pregnant woman. […]