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The brother of slain Shiv Sena (UBT) leader Pradeep Purnekar on Wednesday demanded justice and said the family would not perform his last rites until those responsible for his killing are arrested. Speaking to ANI, Jainath Purnekar said he was informed about the shooting around five minutes after it occurred and rushed to the hospital, where doctors told the family that Pradeep had died.
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Walk for Justice for Soujanya in Ujire on October 10
Walk for Justice for Soujanya in Ujire on October 10
With the recent formation of the UCC panels in Maharashtra, Rajasthan and West Bengal, it becomes necessary to revisit the Constituent Assembly debates on the UCC and question the BJPs selective invocation of Ambedkar to legitimise its divisive and majoritarian pursuits.
Asmita: The idea of speaking with you is that the histories of the Domestic Violence Acts in Bangladesh and India are somewhat intertwined, since they developed around the same time. Could you speak to the history of law-making in Bangladesh on domestic violence? Sara: Sure. I think there were two impetuses to the development of the law on domestic violence. First, there was already an understanding in the womens movement and among legal aid groups that domestic violence was a real issue, but we were providing responses based on existing laws, which did not expressly recognise domestic violence, and which had many gaps. Every lawyer who represented a woman or child facing domestic violence understood that protection was needed, but it wasnt clear how to get a legal remedy. The second impetus to drafting the law was international, the model law from the UN Special Rapporteur on Violence Against Women, which was circulated globally and worked on by UN Women (or UNIFEM, as it was then) for domestication in different countries. Through that process, more womens groups became aware of the issue. In Bangladesh, at least two organisations began drafting a law to address domestic violence, drawing on the international material but also, importantly, on India's legislation which was already in place. The Law Commission in Bangladesh also drafted legislation, again looking partly at Indias. So the international process, once it was grounded in our region through the Indian legislation, became a real catalyst for others to think about what was possible in our own context. We were not working on a blank slate and womens groups already knew we needed a more focused response on DV, and one which prioritised victim/ survivor protection. Asmita: I wanted to understand where the movement in Bangladesh stood on domestic violence at that point. You already had different organisations approaching it in different ways. How did you bring them to the table to participate in drafting the law? Sara: People were working from their own platforms initially. The main legal aid groups, all NGOs, included the Bangladesh Legal Aid and Services Trust, Bangladesh National Women Lawyers Association (BNWLA), BRACs Human Rights and Legal Services Programme (HRLS), Ain O Salish Kendra (ASK), and also the National Legal Aid and Services Organisation (NLASO) (now known as the Directorate of Bangladesh Legal Aid); the last wasnt very active on this issue at that time, though it must have had many relevant clients. Then there were womens groups like the Bangladesh Mahila Parishad and Naripokkho, who had focused on campaigns against violence against women from the mid-1980s onward, again, in response to emblematic cases such as the Yasmin or Rima killings, and following international attention on addressing violence against women, and legal changes in the region, including India. In Bangladesh, violence-against-women reforms came through special legislation, the Suppression of Violence against Women and Children Act 2000, dealing with acid attacks, abduction, rape and trafficking initially, rather than through changes being incorporated into the Penal Code or Criminal Procedure Code. In fact thats been a consistent pattern in Bangladesh and any new serious crime, whether violence against women, trafficking, or terrorism, has been carved into separate legislation, with special provisions e.g. for fast-tracking investigations and trials, denial of bail, victim protection measures, and so on. But domestic violence didnt feature in that stand alone violence-against-women legislation, except as dowry-related violence. If there was no dowry demand involved with the ensuing violence, you couldnt access those protections under the special law. Most law reform agendas for the womens movement prior to the DV Act were about personal law reform and certain extreme forms of violence against women, such as rape and acid attacks, not domestic violence. The contrast between how the movement, and how rights organisations worked on rape versus acid attacks is instructive and maybe holds some lessons for how to frame our responses more effectively on DV. Acid violence emerged as an issue in Bangladesh before it did in India, and the response, which included separate stand-alone legislation on acid attacks, plus legislation restricting the sale and availability of acid, was led by the Acid Survivors Foundation. They built a holistic response through data collection, coordination between the government and NGOs on victim support, and, most critically, survivor engagement, so that acid survivors, almost all young women and girl, themselves became the ones speaking about their pain and their need for justice, and their visibility and courage created a real impact on the public, and on justice actors. Much of the work with survivors was catalysed by Nasreen Huq of Naripokkho. That work, and Bangladesh being first on this, seems to have informed Indias later acid legislation. Because the numbers were smaller and more discrete, and the impact of the crime so visible, groups could organise around the issue of acid violence effectively, and incidents of acid attacks have fallen as a result. The initiative to draft the DV Act came with a recognition that we needed to build a victim-centred response, addressing what a woman or child actually needs, and that this is different from a punitive process. Two groups were working on drafts of their own: BNWLA, and ASK. Eventually, and after quite a lot of back and forth, everyone came together in one coalition, the Citizens Initiative on Domestic Violence (CIDV), which let us pool our experience and expertise. BNWLA, BLAST and others, had a huge client base of women who were survivors of violence , so through our reflections on our work and drawing on clients experiences, we could contribute to the drafting far more effectively. We also took an early and important decision to abandon our separate drafts and instead build on the Law Commissions draft, since it was already engaged on the issue and the Law Ministry was more likely to build upon this than purely NGO-prepared drafts. We combined the three drafts, taking useful elements from each, and once that was agreed, we went back to the comparative examples, looking at Indias legislation in much more detail to work out what we needed. Asmita: Bangladesh, like India, has a personal law regime. Do you also have a secular option, like our Special Marriage Act? Sara: Yes, we do have a civil law option for marriage, the Special Marriage Act, 1872, but very few people use this (given it still requires people to formally renounce their faith in the case of Hindus and Muslims), and of course laws like the Guardians and Wards Act, 1890 or the Child Marriage Restraint Act, 2017 which apply to all irrespective of faith or community. We have separate Family Courts regulated by the Family Courts Act, 2023 (an updating of the earlier law), maintenance applications are made for Muslim and Hindu women under the FCA and based on personal law, and alimony for Christian women under the Divorce Act, 1869, before the Family Court, applying personal law principles. After divorce Muslim women of course can only get maintenance for the limited iddat period , which remains an issue. The initiative to draft the DV Act came with a recognition that we needed to build a victim-centred response, addressing what a woman or child actually needs, and that this is different from a punitive process. Asmita: How was family and domestic defined in the new draft, and what changed? Sara: According to the Domestic Violence (Prevention and Protection) Act, 2010, 'family means related by blood or marital relation or adopted or joint being members of a family who live or used to live together in a shared dwelling and family relationship means any relationship established by reason of blood relations or marital relations or by reason of being a member of an adoptive or joint family. The Act defines domestic violence as physical abuse, mental abuse, sexual abuse or financial loss to any female or child member of the family or a person having a family relationship. The DV Act isnt used for most cases where domestic violence occurs. Practitioners still see it as not having changed the game much. Many still file maintenance applications outside the Act, since the forum under the DV Act is a magistrate, not a Family Court judge, and other applications go to Family Court judges anyway. People tend to go to the Magistrates Court mainly for protection, residence and compensation orders under the DV Act. It may be seen as less effective, or speedy than the Family Court. Asmita: What were the key features of the drafted law, and the major changes you were pushing for? In India, we got the right to residence, a broader notion of family including natal families. What did you get in Bangladesh? Sara: One big change was the definition of the household and to whom the law would apply, creating new duties and responsibilities, including to a wife and children. However, at the last stage, the definitions were changed, so that a divorced wife could no longer claim; this happened at the last stage of vetting by the Law Ministry back in 2009/2010. A second very important change was to the definition of domestic violence itself, including economic, sexual, physical and psychological aspects, none of which had been clearly articulated before as DV, and none of which would have been accepted in earlier claims. Even now, though very few claims invoke sexual violence as a form of DV. The remedies most sought are protection orders, with residence and compensation orders; maintenance and custody claims still mostly go to the Family Court. Asmita: On the form of the law, was there debate over civil versus criminal? Since domestic violence outside dowry wasnt recognised as an offence, was this Act meant to establish it as one? Sara: There was a lot of discussion. Some pushed hard for it to be a criminal offence, with the same draconian approach used for other kinds of violence against women, so restrictions on bail, and so on. Several activists, with more experience of the abusive dynamics involved in the application of criminal justice, than of trial court work, were adamant we didnt want that baggage. So we pursued an approach that the DV law would be a civil law providing protection and other ancillary orders, focused on what the victim needed, and if the situation escalates, then criminal prosecution could be triggered under the Penal Code. What we didnt anticipate was that the underlying penal provisions on dowry-related violence would not be revised, and that there would be no complementary changes to the Penal Code at the time. The only offence under the DV Act itself is violation of a protection, residence, custody, or maintenance order which has been a major point of criticism from many trial lawyers, who see it as toothless, with no deterrent effect. In practice, the earlier pre DV Act pattern is still often repeated a survivor files a dowry-related violence case under the special law on VAW, alongside her maintenance / custody claims, and this essentially pressures the husband to settle the financial matters at the family court. One shift Ive noticed recently is that in cases where survivors are from a middle or higher income group, where DV Act proceedings may be brought alongside family court maintenance or custody proceedings,, the stigma attached to a DV case has some strategic impact. The deeper challenge is that in situations of serious power imbalance, the person perpetrating violence, in contrast to the survivor, often has the resources to resort to endless interlocutory orders to block the survivor from accessing emergency relief, y. The DV Act was meant to shift the dial for women and children who face domestic abuse, speed things up and make the law actually work for them. How effective its actually been, and what other institutional changes are needed beyond simple law reform is the real question. Even after the Domestic Violence (Prevention and Protection) Act, 2010 was enacted, the main response to domestic violence in Bangladesh remains largely the same as before, since the majority of cases arise in the context of poverty and low-income households, the key concern is still economic survival, whether or not separation or divorce is involved. Unless a situation of domestic violence reached a very extreme level, women werent asking for much beyond how to survive financially without a breadwinner, even a violent one. So most legal responses were and are in the form of maintenance claims, sometimes child custody, and rarely for protection or residence orders. Asmita: On enforcement, India has protection officers, service providers, and similar mechanisms. What was envisaged for Bangladesh? Sara: We already had two institutions in place to address VAW, the police run Victim Support Centres, only eight in number, and the public hospital based One Stop Crisis Centres,. The DV Act was meant to introduce enforcement officers, but no separate cadre was actually created; for years, existing officers under the Directorate of Womens Affairs at the district level were simply tasked with the role, without dedicated resources or training. A huge problem was that no duty bearers - the judges, magistrates, enforcement officers, and police -- were oriented to the law when it came into force. NGOs were often the only ones familiar with its terms. I remember an early case that BLAST colleagues conducted where they had to hand the magistrate physical copy of the Act repeatedly because theyd never seen it. Even where its possible to secure an emergency protection order, there are real gaps in ensuring consistency of response, given limited resources and capacity.. Victim Support Centres still exist only in 8 districts, and elsewhere the victim is on their own, or dependent on NGO services, and government hotlines and the police. Theres almost nowhere for emergency shelter with less than 20 government run shelters across the country. Meanwhile a woman or child who is a victim of abuse may be juggling a DV case, a dowry case, and a family court matter simultaneously, without the financial or social support to sustain any of it. The social safety net provision that may be available is a few hundred or thousand taka , nowhere near enough. So youre thrown back onto the same social structure, only slightly modified since the Act. Ive tried to find data on the budget for implementing the DV Act which includes training for magistrates, resources for courts but havent found it. Theres a family card programme the new government launched after the elections, essentially a safety net for low-income families, entitling them to services and financial aid. Whether DV survivors are prioritised within that isnt clear. The DV Act was worked on intensely by womens groups and rights organisations, but once it had been enacted, the movements interest moved on, a bit like a baby thats arrived and now everyones attention shifts to other children needing to be fed and clothed. Years later, the main demand we still hear in reviews is to make DV non-bailable or a separate offence and the more structural issues about institutional and financial resources needed for resourcing the implementation of the Act - rarely come up. If we focus on the latter, and build collaborations, including with the social welfare and law ministries, and the judiciary, we can make the law work far more effectively. Years later, the main demand we still hear in reviews is to make DV non-bailable or a separate offence and the more structural issues about institutional and financial resources needed for resourcing the implementation of the Act - rarely come up. Asmita: That runs against what you said earlier, about not wanting a punitive framing and it sounds like weve come full circle. Sara: I dont agree with having punitive framing. But its a debate practitioners and NGOs need to have when reviewing the Act. What some are now proposing is a family support centre to be established for Family Courts, doing what a victim support centre and enforcement officer together were meant to do, coordinating referrals and support, since the enforcement officer alone cant manage all these tasks. BLAST has just started piloting an initiative with the Directorate of Bangladesh Legal Aid on this. Asmita: So were still with the original Act. Sara: Yes. A draft law to amend the DV Act went to the interim government but wasnt approved, perhaps due to lack of prioritisation by the Womens Ministry, which held the file. Parliament is still revising legislation that was adopted by the interim government and the Anti- Sexual Harassment Act is in the same position, amendments were drafted but a stand alone law was not ultimately adopted. However, very significant changes were made to the Bangladesh Labour Act, recognising duties to address gender discrimination and sexual harassment at the workplace and putting in place specific provisions on prevention and protection. Asmita: Whats the future agenda on domestic violence in Bangladesh. Is it reforming the existing law, new legislation, or focusing on procedure and support systems? Sara: After the DV Act, the DV rules were framed, and the Legal Aid and Services Act was reformed to prioritise DV survivors. Those remain ongoing areas of work . The priorities are training and understanding around powers and duties. A fourth feature Id flag, alongside remedies, was recognition of the roles and duties of legal aid groups and other civil society organisations, expressly set out in the Act. After the July Uprising, there was a major turnover in the police (many of whom fled the country after their role in carrying out brutal violence and mass killings of protestors) and in other relevant government offices, and now more changes in personnel after the recent elections. Judicial and police and civil service training academies need to include the DV law in their curricula. Theres also broader institutional work needed to address judicial delays, lack of timely police response, lack of institutional (particularly healthcare) support. A gap in our Coalition is that were still very focused on advocating for changes in the law, and less on institutional support or the financial interventions needed, and also very centred on the Womens Ministry, rather than for example the Law Ministry, Health Ministry or Finance Ministry. Unfortunately, the judiciary hasnt really taken up the issue - eg fast-tracking DV cases or appeals (as has recently been done by the Supreme Court for rape appeals)- and even the Interim Governments Judicial Reform Commission didnt mention relevant reform recommendations on addressing domestic violence, violence against women more generally or family courts. There is a real opportunity for the Judiciary and the Government to address this gap now and to coordinate a response on domestic violence against women and children. Asmita: Why is this so deprioritised? Have violence levels actually gone down, or is it just not getting attention? Sara: The issue of DV is not getting the attention it deserves. Post-Uprising, weve seen some highly misogynistic forces unleashed and an overt backlash against womens rights. We do have 50 women parliamentarians in reserved seats, but fewer than ten women were elected in general seats, and there are even fewer in cabinet. However, some have been active on the ground for years, including on rights issues, while others are survivors of gross violations of human rights themselves, including of disappearances of their family members. These are issues on which the womens movement has been largely silent and its important now for there to be greater connection and communication between citizens organisations and political actors on the pervasive nature of domestic violence and to treat it not just as a legal problem with technical solutions, but as an urgent political priority. Two issues are worth separating. First, theres an issue about how much of the agenda on reforms to the legal and institutional framework on violence against women is shaped by womens and human rights groups. In the last six months, there have been horrendous, high-profile rape cases involving young children, which triggered nationwide protests, resulting in fast-tracking of investigations and cases, setting up a new Supreme Court bench for rape appeals, and police completing investigations in days rather than months (of course raising its own fair-trial concerns). Nothing comparable has happened for domestic violence, even though its very possible that equally brutal DV cases occurred in the same period, but they just arent getting the same response, particularly in the media, despite higher overall incidence, perhaps precisely because the pattern of violence in such cases is so widespread and entrenched and endemic, and has a certain level of social sanction Second, the anti-discrimination movement that led the Uprising was focused on challenging discrimination in the allocation of quotas for government jobs, and many of us hoped it would necessarily extend to addressing issues of discrimination more broadly. But unfortunately it hasnt. Before the Uprising, we had fifteen years with a woman prime minister and women in senior positions, but they made very little real investment in the institutional response to domestic violence. That government could have passed any law it wanted, given it had a total majority, with its opposition subjected to severe repression. But it never chose to review the Acts operation. We assumed the DV Act would be an easy win, and so would its implementation, since theres no religious or personal-law angle to it and the issue affects all communities. What we underestimated was the depth of resistance to change in this area specifically. Its a strong, still-active bloc, and reflects deep seated patriarchal values and conservatism . Asmita: Is the caseload on domestic violence at womens organisations still high, or has it declined? Sara: I dont think client numbers have declined. Id guess the type of cases undertaken and nature of advice given have shifted somewhat given the availability of new remedies under the DV Act, but the bulk of our case load is still maintenance cases, which are resolved either through mediation, and/or litigation before the Family Court. For most women with a background of domestic violence, the ask is still: please get maintenance being paid, so my children and I can survive. Asmita: So maintenance remains the core issue. Sara: What has changed is that women and children who are abuse survivors can and do get protection and residence orders now. Residence orders in particular would be worth studying in more depth. Taslima Akhter had done a study for Action Aid on implementation of the DV Act , but theres no government study to date. Asmita: Looking at this as a South Asian issue, where do you see possibilities for collaboration going forward? Sara : There are many possibilities to collaborate across South Asia to learn about our best (and worst!) practices in responding to DV survivors, and also to identify common challenges in relation to addressing violence against women, and more broadly on how we navigate our work on rights and justice. Its relevant of course that Bangladeshs DV Act drew on Indias, and that Indias acid legislation drew on Bangladeshs laws and policies. But going beyond this - there are many possibilities for collaboration in terms of mapping strategies on reforms to womens rights within the family, and to personal laws, and in relation to violence. .. Given the majoritarian politics and practices across the region, there are obvious political sensitivities in each country regarding reform, and these initiatives can easily be weaponised as minority-targeting. We have made progressive changes with respect to womens Muslim personal laws and womens rights to divorce, inheritance and marriage in Bangladesh . In contrast, in Bangladesh, Hindu and Christian personal laws on marriage and divorce are effectively stuck in the nineteenth century. But we know that Pakistan has already made changes that Bangladesh hasnt, for example in Sindh on Hindu personal law. Much of Muslim personal law in India is similarly also frozen in time. Its worth building the argument, across the region, for how such reform can happen, pointing to what has actually changed, and for whom. We often hear two standard objections: that personal laws affecting the majority community cant be touched, and that minority personal laws cant be touched without trampling on minority rights. In Bangladesh, Hindu and Christian women have made demands for reform themselves and faced pushback from their community leaders, and recently from newly active conservative groups such as the Hindu Mahasabha, who seek to frame demands for reform as an attack on family and community identity. Strategising around that backlash matters in Bangladesh, and across South Asia, right now. Theres also a shared legal and organising history in the womens rights movement in South Asia thats been fractured over the past two decades, as everyone has had domestic fires to deal with, and repressive, authoritarian or highly communal governments to struggle against. We need to learn from each others different histories and stages of organising. Personal laws and violence-against-women laws matter, but so does the strategy, the organising, the navigation of legal procedure and institutions. Exchanges between our countries shouldnt only be about what the law says, but about what has actually worked in practice and also on how we keep alive a culture of respecting rights, and demanding justice and accountability.
ONE CANNOT HELP BUT DRAW painful parallels to the 2012 Nirbhaya case, calling into question whether systemic law enforcement mechanisms have made any meaningful progress in the decade since then, said Supreme Court on September 28 while taking a suo moto cognisance of the recent rape cases in Delhi NCR to evaluate systemic, preventive, and monitoring frameworks currently in place to ensure safety in public spaces across Delhi-NCR. The bench of Justices Pardiwala and K. Vinod Chandran adduced news reports of over past few weeks, including gang-rape of a 17-year old at Aastha Kunj Park , complaints of recurrent sexual harassment faced by students of Lady Shri Ram College for Women , gang rape and murder of a teenage girl in Swaroop Nagar , sexual assault of a minor girl inside a moving sleeper bus to express their distress and the systemic failure of law enforcement and civil administrative authorities to guarantee basic public safety. Senior counsel Liz Mathew was appointed as the amicus. Public spaces, including parks, roads, buses, metro stations, subways, foot bridges, etc. cannot be permitted to become zones of high risk due to grossly inadequate illumination, poor surveillance, lax patrolling, or other preventable administrative deficiencies, the bench said citing Article 21. The bench stressed upon the need for accountability fixed upon the authorities entrusted with prevention of crime, maintenance of public order and protection of vulnerable persons. The scope of the suo moto proceedings, the Court clarified, is not directed at assessing individual criminal culpability (which will be determined through trial), but at examining the broader institutional failures. The Court has asked authorities to place before it a comprehensive status report regarding (i) the measures undertaken to ensure adequate safety and security arrangements in public places and other areas frequented by women and children; (ii) the manner in which the National Database on Sexual Offenders (NDSO) is being utilised by the Delhi Police; (iii) the manner in which the Ministry of Home Affairs is utilising the Investigation Tracking System for Sexual Offences (ITSSO); (iv) operational status of Mission Shakti programme; and (v) functioning status of mechanisms referred to by Ministry of Women and Child Development in its June 2024 report. Further, the bench also ordered immediate interim measures to be undertaken within four weeks which include the constitution of police teams to identify locations of poor lighting, lack of surveillance, insufficient patrolling, etc, preparation of a district-wise vulnerability map, deployment of patrolling and security arrangements at public parks and vulnerable areas, and audit and installment of CCTVs in vulnerable zones. The Court has also has directed the removal of black, tinted or solar-control films on vehicle windows which facilitates the commission of crimes. The Registrar General of Delhi High Court has also been asked to furnish information regarding the present status and functioning of the Fast Track Special Courts and Exclusive POCSO Courts in Delhi. The Court reminded media outlets of mindful and non-sensationalised reportage and asked for a dedicated column in the newspapers and a dedicated time in the electronic media to provide information of the protective devices and the telephone numbers, which could be accessed for immediate assistance in the event of a perceived threat. The matter has been listed on October 5, 2026 for further directions. Background As per the National Crime Records Bureau, which published its annual report of 2024 in 2026, over 1,058 cases of rape were registered in Delhi. According Delhi Police , on the other hand, the city recorded 1,901 rape cases in 2025 as against 2,076 in 2024 and 2,141 in 2023. This month itself, several stories pertaining to rape and sexual assault (of especially minors) emerged from the National Capital Region. On September 10, a 16-year-old girl was brutally gang-raped and repeatedly stabbed after going to meet an acquaintance in North Delhis Swaroop Nagar; her decomposed body was found dumped in a field. On the same day, it came to light that a four-year-old girl disclosed to her family that she had been sexually abused by her school-cab driver in West Delhis Ranhola area. On September 13, a nine-year-old girl was abducted while asleep at home and sexually assaulted by a 40-year-old neighbour in Swaroop Nagar. Around a week later, on September 17, a girl was allegedly lured into a tailoring shop in Sadar Bazar, restrained, and sexually assaulted by the 56-year-old shopkeeper. September 21, a seven-year-old girl was allegedly sexually assaulted in the Desh Bandhu Gupta Road area. That same day, a 17 year-old girl was allegedly gang-raped by three men claiming to be policemen near Astha Kunj Park. Of course, these are incidents only in popular media; readers are encouraged to consider the possibility of multitudes of incidents which either go unreported or are overlooked. In the immediate response to the rape ate Astha Kunj Park, the authorities curbed access to public parks and a Lady Shri Ram College, which is located close to the site of the crime, briefly moved classes online. In response, the students at LSR arranged a protest march demanding accountability. Womens safety cannot be addressed only through advisories asking women to be more careful. The focus has to be on safer public spaces, reliable last-mile transport, visible policing, accessible reporting mechanisms and timely accountability, Lady Shri Ram College Students Union president Anusha Garg told NDTV. Last week, chief minister Rekha Gupta admitted to lapses and vowed to improve the security infrastructure in the light of cases of crime against women. Case: In Re: Recent Rape Incidents in Delhi NCR Suo Moto Writ Petition (Criminal) No. 6/2026
A 2015 BBC REPORT on the victims of marital rape in India starts with the harrowing account by a 25 year old woman, I was only a toy for him which he thought he could use differently every night. Whenever we had a fight, he would take it out on me in bed. He would not take a no for an answer not even during my periods. The act of rape generally attracts a significant amount of outcry from the people at large with sections of society being terribly outraged and nauseated with the recurring occurrence of such ghastly crimes depending upon their severity. But on the contrary when it comes to marital rape there is no such collective outrage nor even concerns expressed by influential sections of society. The same concepts of violation of consent and bodily autonomy forming the core pillars of jurisprudence on the crime of rape undergo a dilution when the exact act of non-consensual sex is placed within the framework of a marriage. The Supreme Court has before it a batch of petitions on the vires of the marital rape exception. Four arise from the reference made after the Delhi High Court delivered a split verdict in RIT Foundation v. Union of India (2022). The law on marital rape is outdated The common law doctrine of coverture was a recognised principle in Britain as per which a female had no independent legal identity and standing. According to the doctrine, her fathers identity mirrored her identity before marriage and post marriage her identity merged with that of her husband, resulting in the absence of recognition of any property rights or bodily autonomy or custody rights. As a result, the recognition of all these rights remained contingent upon the will of the husband. In the United Kingdom, it was much later in 1991 that the House of Lords in the case of R v. R struck down the marital rape exception as it went on to uphold the equality of both the spouses in a marriage. The House of Lords relied on the Scottish decision in S v. H.M. Advocate (1989) which led to the removal of spousal immunity against the offence of rape. This ousted the doctrine of coverture from being recognised as a legitimate common law principle and statutorily being removed in 1994 in the UK. In India Section 375 of the Indian Penal Code (IPC) and Section 63 of the Bhartiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS) lay down constitutes as rape. The sections comprise two instances where the act would not be considered to be rape. The first being the carrying out of a medical procedure or intervention and the second being sexual intercourse or sexual acts by a man with his own wife not below 18 years of age. The second exception fails to address whether the nature of such a sexual intercourse or sexual act by a man with his major wife should be viewed from the axis of it being consensual or non-consensual. The exception has been retained by the BNS which came into force in 2023 replacing the earlier IPC of 1860 in an effort to decolonise the criminal laws. The exception has been retained by the BNS which came into force in 2023 replacing the earlier IPC of 1860 in an effort to decolonise the criminal laws. The challenges that await adjudication in court The Indian Judiciary has been posed with the question of taking a definitive stance in numerous cases to ascertain if marital rape should be allowed to continue as an exception to the offence of rape or if the same should be criminalised and deemed to be rape. An important case that forms part of the batch of petitions that the Supreme Court is faced with is Hrishikesh Sahoo v. State of Karnataka wherein a woman had filed complaint against her husband of multiple offences one of which was rape. The Karnataka High Court rejected the argument of Sahoo pertaining to the existence of the marital rape exception and held that no exception under the law can be so absolute that it becomes license for the commission of a crime against society. While Sahoo filed an SLP at the Supreme Court which remains pending till date, it became the first case where a chargesheet was successfully filed incorporating, among others, the allegations of rape. Another important issue arises from the Delhi High Courts split verdict in the case of RIT Foundation v. Union of India (2022) which effectively captured the core of the conceptual divide prevailing upon the question concerning the criminalisation of marital rape. Justice Rajiv Shakdher in his judgement noted, Women in most parts of the world are treated as individuals, free to enter into contracts in their own right but when it comes to sexual communion with their husbands, their consent counts for nothing. He found the classification between married, unmarried and separated couples as unreasonable and arbitrary as it inevitably gave recognition to only forced sex outside marriage constituting an actual act of rape whilst simultaneously failing to recognise the same act happening within the bounds of marriage as anything else but rape. Justice C. Hari Shankar on the other hand opined that sex between a wife and a husband is sacred with it having an emotional element when performed between a husband and wife thereby making the marital bedroom inviolable and did not accept the idea of terming the husband as the rapist of his wife if he had sex without the latters consent as it would be antithetical to the very institution of marriage. Justice Shankar also placed the onus of deciding whether or not to criminalise non-consensual sex within marriage squarely within the legislative realm. Justice Shakdhers line of ruling while siding with the removal of the marital rape exception recognised the creation of a firewall shielding the category of married men or husbands as a result of the exception prevailing in the existing law. This in turn, he noted, led to the exclusion of nearly one half of the population of the equal protection of laws. He also supported the removal of the exception on the premises of consent, autonomy and equality. He drew a distinction between unreasonable denial of sex as a valid and recognised ground for divorce under Indian family law whilst also not allowing the same to transcend into an unfettered right to sex without consent. However, Justice Shankars ruling opposing was rooted in the premise of the distinct nature of marital relationships of which a legitimate expectation of sex flows noting that not all acts of non-consensual sex can be termed as rape. To support his argument, he drew an unrequited and misplaced parallel with the offence of murder. The Chhattisgarh High Court in 2025 overturning the order of conviction against a Husband who had been convicted for rape and subsequent death of his wife on account of the prevailing exception of any sexual intercourse or sexual act by a husband with his wife with the latter not being a minor falling into the definition of rape. The deceased wifes cause of death as per her post-mortem report was rectal perforation and peritonitis with the former resulting due to a tear or hole in the lower end of the large intestine leading to the anus and the latter is a widespread infection and swelling caused by the lining inside of the stomach. The Executive Magistrate who was recording the dying declaration of the wife was even informed by her about her husbands forceful commission of an unnatural sexual act with her ; however, the dying declaration does not have record of it. However, in a stark contrast the Gujarat High Courts judgment this year where a single judge bench rejected the application for anticipatory bail that was filed by a husband observing that spousal intimacy must be consensual in nature in light of the wife accusing her husband and in-laws of rape , unnatural sex and physical assault. According to the FIR the husband along with two other co-accused had given the complainant a false confidence that she would be taken care of after marrying the accused but post the marriage she was subjected to constant demands of dowry coupled with physical, mental and even sexual abuse without her consent. Eventually she was also thrown out of her marital home in 2025 which led to the filing of an FIR. A resounding argument against the removal of the exception of marital rape is the plausible erosion it would cause to the institution of marriage and that such a victim can avail the usage of other penal provisions along with a particular emphasis on placing reliance on the framework of the Protection of Women from Domestic Violence Act of 2005. Penal provisions pertaining to criminal force and assault against women along with provisions dealing with hurt and grievous hurt fail to capture the severity of a non-consensual sexual intercourse. The act of non-consensual sexual intercourse involving the perpetrator and the victim bound by marital relationship does not condone the act from being termed as rape. Consent is readily recognised as the bedrock of any intimate relationship. But it suddenly starts receding to the background if the same intimate relationship assumes the nature of marital relationship involving the spouses. In the 2005 Act, sexual abuse is defined as inclusive of any conduct of a sexual nature that abuses, humiliates, degrades or otherwise violates the dignity of woman. The definition of sexual abuse when juxtaposed with the exception of acts not constituting rape, particularly the sexual intercourse or any sexual act by a husband with his major wife, lessens the criminal dimension of the abuse inflicted. Additionally with the introduction of Bhartiya Nyaya Sanhita, Section 377 of the IPC has been completely done away with. The provision was read down in the case of Navtej Singh Johar v. Union of India leading to the decriminalisation of consensual sex between consenting same-sex individuals. Earlier, that provision provided a viable opportunity to married women when they were subjected to non-consensual non-penile-vaginal sexual acts by their husbands. However, with the complete omission of Section 377 in BNS, women who have been subjected to non-consensual sex by their husbands find themselves fighting a crushing battle which even the existing legal provisions have failed to identify and address the issue. Justice Rajiv Shakdher in his judgement noted, Women in most parts of the world are treated as individuals, free to enter into contracts in their own right but when it comes to sexual communion with their husbands, their consent counts for nothing. Legislatures failure to address marital rape as a heinous offence Justice Verma Committee was constituted in 2012 as a result of the massive backlash and outrage of the public following the 2012 Delhi Nirbhaya Gang Rape case. The committee comprising Retired Justices J.S. Verma, Leila Seth and Senior Advocate Gopal Subramanium in its recommendation advocated for the removal of the marital rape exception premised on the argument that a marital or other relationship between the perpetrator or victim is not a valid defence against the crimes of rape or sexual violation. It also recommended that if the accused and the victim share any intimate relationship even one of marriage the same should not act as a mitigating factor justifying lower sentences for rape. It stressed on the dissemination of training and awareness programmes at all levels of the criminal justice system extending even to the people outside it making them capable to identify that marriage should not be regarded as extinguishing the legal or sexual autonomy of the wife. The then UPA government decided to bring forth the Criminal Law (Amendment) Act, 2013 without incorporating the recommendation pertaining to the removal of the marital rape exception. While some parliamentarians have introduced a private members bill seeking to criminalise marital rape with the latest being introduced by Congress Member of Parliament Sashi Tharoor, the bills have never really been extensively discussed and debated on the floor of the house. In 2016, during the Parliaments budget session, the issue of marital rape was taken up in a question fielded by a Member of Parliament who wanted to know if the Government would scrap the marital rape exception. In a written reply to the Rajya Sabha, the Minister for Women and Child Development Maneka Gandhi wrote, It is considered that the concept of marital rape, as understood internationally, cannot be suitably applied in the Indian context due to various factors like level of education/illiteracy, poverty. Sweta Kothari in her article, A husband can rape his wife, why cant our MPs get this? published in DailyO on May 12, 2016, wrote, It is abysmal that the minister referred to marital rape as a concept, not a crime, thus suggesting that husbands can subject their wives to any sort of sexual abuse, without their consent and yet cannot be labelled as criminals. Literally classifying and endorsing rape committed by husbands. Kothari stated that Maneka Gandhis reply was verbatim a copy of the written reply put forth by Haribhai Chaudhary, Minister of State for Home Affairs in Parliament in 2015. The government consistently maintains that the country is far from acknowledging marital rape as a reality, despite alarming evidence of sexual violence at home, gathered by National Family Health Survey (NFHS), Kothari remarked with anguish. She went on to add that 0.6 percent of the sexual violence committed by married men against their wives got reported to the police and those were booked as cruelty by the husband. Kothari in her article referred to Minister of State for Home Affairs Kiran Rijijus December 2015 statement last year that the issue of marital rape is very complicated and it is very difficult to explain and describe it. These are of such extreme private nature and no records of any consent are available. Kothari flagged that our neighbouring countries like Bhutan and Nepal have outlawed marital rape, there is no reason why India should not do so. The aforementioned figures of National Family Health Survey quoted by Kothari concerning sexual violence committed by married men against their spouses have gone up significantly. As per the National Family Health Survey of 2023-2024 which was released in May, 2026 in the category of Gender Based Violence among the women aged between 18-49 years 17.5 percent and 24.4 percent of women in the urban and the rural areas respectively have faced spousal violence which has been defined in the survey as any form of physical and/or sexual violence. Internationally, Poland has the record of being the first country to recognise Marital Rape as a crime as early as 1932 followed by several developed countries like, the UK, the USA, Canada, Australia, France Germany etc. along with various small and developing countries like Ghana, South Africa, Chile, Cuba etc. South Asian countries along with India fall into the category of nations which have not criminalised marital rape till date. The latest data in the NFHS survey documents the rising incidence of spousal violence against women including sexual violence. Tragically there is complete absence of any legislative and judicial interventions to address the mounting crime. In October 2024, the Union Government in an affidavit before the Supreme Court opposing the criminalization of marital rape in India, argued that the issue is more social than legal, and asserting that any changes to the law require broader consultation with stakeholders and states. As of now women who have been subjected to non-consensual sex by their husbands are left with no functional legal recourse as they deal with the trifling value accorded to the erasure of their consent and bodily autonomy. The issue of marital rape has been dealt with extensively by the Parliamentary Committee and Law Commission. Yet no government till date has been able to take any major step to address the problem. It only testifies to the patriarchal mindset of the law makers which refuses to treat rape within confines of matrimony as an act of crime rooted in domination, imposition and false perception that men as husbands within framework of marriage are inherently superior to their wives and so their sexual act even if carried out in violation of consent of their wives could not be treated as rape.
Asian Games: India Shine On Day 10 As Women
India enjoyed a strong run across shooting, athletics and boxing at the 2026 Asian Games on Tuesday, September 29, with the women's 4x400m relay team delivering the country's first athletics gold of the Games.
Neeru Dhanda Creates History With Individual Trap Gold At Asian Games
Neeru Dhanda added a major milestone to India's shooting campaign at the 2026 Asian Games on Tuesday, September 29, winning the women's individual trap gold after dominating both the qualification round and the final.
Scientists Uncover Striking Genetic Similarities Between Cat And Human Cancers
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Indian Officials Visit Santa Monica College To Strengthen Education Ties
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24th 3rd i Film Festival To Bring South Asian Stories To San Francisco
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The Supreme Court on Tuesday expressed strong dissatisfaction with the National Commission for Protection of Child Rights (NCPCR) over what it described as an inadequate response to the implementation of the statutory 25% admission entitlement for economically weaker section (EWS) children in private unaided schools. A Bench comprising Justice P.S. Narasimha and Justice Alok Aradhe [] The post Supreme Court questions NCPCRs role in implementing 25% RTE quota,directs chairperson and director to appear appeared first on India Legal .
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Calcutta High Court grants 3-week interim bail to Congress Nandigram candidate Milan Pradhan
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Supreme Court allows Rajasthan Cricket Association polls, directs results to be kept in sealed cover
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Rahul Gandhi backs Gen Z protests: 'Stop punishing women for crimes against them'
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Justice Dipankar Datta dedicates Supreme Court judgment to late law clerk Ritwik Deswal
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Supreme Court to hear plea challenging CEC Gyanesh Kumar
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India-Born Rewant Ruia Announces $18 Billion Steel Investment At White House Event
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FTC chief vows to 'restore justice' as court clears way for Coupang probe
Digital Desk | Seoul, Sep 29 (IANS) The chief of South Korea's antitrust watchdog said on Tuesday he will work to estore justice after a local court recently cleared the way for the agency to resume its stalled probe into U.S.-listed e-commerce giant Coupang. Ju Biung-ghi, head of the Fair Trade Commission (FTC), made the remarks during an interview with local radio broadcaster CBS, signalling the agency's intention to resume its investigation, reports Yonhap news agency. Last month, Coupang refused to cooperate with the watchdog's on-site probe into allegations the company had shifted the costs of discounts onto its suppliers and asked a court to suspend the inspection. The court initially granted a temporary suspension of the FTC's on-site inspection but eventually rejected Coupang's request to halt the probe last week. (Coupang) deals with various vendors, and the company could be subject to regulatory action if it has imposed unfavourable terms on them, Ju said. It is a relief the judge handling the case ruled in favour of the public interest, including the rights of the economically vulnerable and hundreds of thousands of small merchants, he added. We will continue to make efforts to restore justice undermined by the stalled probe into Coupang. At a press conference this month, Ju described the court's disruption of the FTC's investigation as egrettable. Meanwhile, Coupang swung to a net loss in the second quarter from a year earlier due to fines related to a massive data breach. In the three months that ended in June, the U.S.-listed company shifted to a net loss of 865 billion won (US$570 million) from a net profit of 43.5 billion won in the same period last year, it said in a press release. Coupang, which generates most of its revenue from its Korean operations, has faced strong public backlash following the disclosure of a data breach in November 2025 involving more than 37 million customers.
Jaishankar Flags Pakistan Terrorism Concerns As Challenge For India-U.S. Ties
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The FBI has intensified its search for Indian gangster Satinderjeet Singh, also known as Goldy Brar, placing him on its Ten Most Wanted Fugitives list and offering up to $1 million for information leading to his arrest.
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Conviction rates in crimes against women decline in Odisha
Digital Desk | Bhubaneswar, Sep 28 (IANS) Despite the Odisha government and police emphasising measures to improve conviction rates in heinous crimes and crimes against women, the conviction rate in several major categories declined in 2025 compared to the previous year. Chief Minister Mohan Charan Majhi informed the Assembly on Monday that the conviction rate in rape cases fell from 13 per cent in 2024 to 11.6 per cent in 2025. Trials were completed in 1,666 rape cases in 2024, resulting in 216 convictions. In 2025, 1,467 trials concluded, with 170 convictions. The conviction rate in attempted rape cases dropped from 9.3 per cent in 2024 to 5.1 per cent in 2025. Four of 43 cases ended in convictions in 2024, while only two of 39 cases did so in 2025. Cases of assault on women with intent to outrage modesty saw a marginal decline from 3.8 per cent in 2024 to 3.6 per cent in 2025. In 2024, 127 convictions were recorded in 3,378 trials, while in 2025, 153 convictions were recorded in 4,265 trials. Convictions in cases of cruelty by husband or relatives fell from 2.4 per cent in 2024 to 1.5 per cent in 2025. In 2024, 53 convictions were recorded in 2,192 trials, while in 2025, 50 convictions were recorded in 3,323 trials. The conviction rate in cases involving insult to the modesty of women also fell from 3.6 per cent in 2024 to 2.9 per cent in 2025. In 2024, 21 convictions were recorded in 591 trials, while in 2025, 15 convictions were recorded in 515 trials. In contrast, conviction rates in POCSO cases rose significantly from 11.8 per cent in 2024 to 18.7 per cent in 2025. There were 190 convictions out of 1,615 trials in 2024, compared to 396 convictions out of 2,113 trials in 2025. Convictions in dowry death cases also increased from 8.4 per cent in 2024 to 9.4 per cent in 2025. Nine convictions were recorded out of 107 trials in 2024, while nine convictions were recorded out of 95 trials in 2025. The CM said Odisha recorded 32,687 crimes against women in 2025, compared to 18,013 cases between June and December 2024. Between January and July 2026, 21,069 cases were reported. From June 2024 to July 2026, Odisha recorded a total of 71,769 crimes against women.
Supreme Court Justice Alito recuses himself from climate case involving oil companies
By John Kruzel WASHINGTON, Sept 28 (Reuters) - US Supreme Court Justice Samuel Alito will not participate in an upcoming case involving a bid by oil companies to scuttle a lawsuit seeking to hold them liable for helping fuel climate change, a court official said on Monday. Alito owns stock in several oil and gas companies but not Exxon Mobil and Suncor Energy, the two companies involved in the dispute to be heard by the court on October 5. He had initially declined calls from watchdog and environmental groups to recuse. Alito stepped aside when the litigation reached the court at an earlier stage in 2023. Alito is one of the most conservative justices on the court, which has a 6-3 conservative majority. Lawyers for the oil companies and those representing officials in Boulder, Colorado, who sued Exxon and Suncor in 2018, were informed on Monday of Alito's recusal in a letter from Scott Harris, clerk of the Supreme Court. Harris did not provide a rationale, stating only, I am writing to inform the parties that Justice Alito has determined that he will not continue to participate in this case. The dispute, which will be heard on the first day of the court's new term, could determine the fate of dozens of state and local climate-related lawsuits against fossil fuel companies. According to his most recent financial disclosure, Alito's holdings includestock in ConocoPhillips and Phillips 66, which are defendants in separate but similar climate-related lawsuits. The upcoming Supreme Court case involves whether federal law precludes certain claims under state law seeking damages for harms allegedly caused by the effects of greenhouse gas emissions. The justices also directed the parties to address whether the court has jurisdiction to decide the case at this stage. President Donald Trump's administration has backed Exxon and Suncor, arguing that federal law precludes Boulder's claims. (Reporting by John Kruzel; Editing by Will Dunham) This article originally appeared on Reuters at https://www.yahoo.com/news/politics/articles/us-supreme-courts-alito-wont-175903169.html
Man gets 6 years for taking explosives to church hosting annual Red Mass for justices
A New Jersey man has been sentenced to nearly six years in prison for taking homemade explosive devices to a Washington, D.C., church that was preparing for an annual Mass celebrating the start of the Supreme Courts term
The Supreme Court on Monday took suo motu cognisance (self-initiated proceedings by the court) of a series of recent rape and sexual assault incidents in Delhi-NCR, questioning the failure of law-enforcement and civil authorities to prevent such crimes and asking whether systemic mechanisms have made any meaningful progress since the 2012 Nirbhaya case. The Court, however, made clear that its proceedings are not about determining the guilt of individual accused persons. Its focus is on whether the State and its institutions have put in place effective preventive, monitoring and response mechanisms to keep women and children safe in public spaces.
SC orders Delhi police audit, mapping of crime-prone areas
The Supreme Court has issued comprehensive directives to the Delhi Police Commissioner to enhance safety for women and minor girls in Delhi-NCR. These measures include forming dedicated police teams, conducting vulnerability audits of public spaces, improving lighting and CCTV surveillance, and strengthening grievance redressal mechanisms. The court also sought reports on the functioning of fast-track courts, utilisation of sexual offender databases, and the Mission Shakti programme.
India on Monday called for faster cross-border asset recovery and greater focus on the actual confiscation and return of proceeds of crime as it hosted the 11th Annual General Meeting of the Asset Recovery Interagency Network, Asia Pacific (ARIN-AP) in New Delhi. The Enforcement Directorate (ED), which is India's nodal agency for ARIN-AP, proposed under the country's 2026 presidency that the network focus on two priorities: speeding up responses to requests and ensuring completion of asset recovery cases. Addressing the inaugural session, ED Director Rahul Navin said asset recovery involves tracing, securing, confiscation, management and return, and a case can fail at any of these stages. He noted that while international cooperation is strongest in the early stages, cross-border confiscation, enforcement of foreign orders and repatriation are areas where cases often slow down. The ED Director proposed that, where members are able to share such information, ARIN-AP should also track th...
Collegium Recommends 3 High Court Chief Justices As Supreme Court Judges
The collegium also recommended the name of Justice Devendra Kumar Upadhyaya, Chief Justice of the Delhi High Court, as a judge of the top court.
Supreme Court collegium recommends three high court chief justices for elevation
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SC Collegium recommends 3 High Court Chief Justices for elevation to Supreme Court
The Supreme Court Collegium on Monday the elevation of three High Court Chief Justices as judges of the Supreme Court -- Justice Sunita Agarwal of the Gujarat High Court, Justice Devendra Kumar Upadhyaya of the Delhi High Court and Justice Aparesh Kumar Singh of the Telangana High Court. The recommendations will fill three of the vacancies in the top court, which has a sanctioned strength of 38 judges and currently has 34 judges. The Collegium in its meeting took the decision and released a statement saying,
SC Collegium recommends 3 chief justices of HCs as judges of apex court
The Supreme Court Collegium on Monday recommended the elevation of three High Court Chief Justices as judges of the apex court. According to the resolution issued by the Supreme Court, the Collegium recommended the elevation of Justice Sunita Agarwal, Chief Justice of the Gujarat High Court, as a judge of the apex court. The collegium also recommended the name of Justice Devendra Kumar Upadhyaya, Chief Justice of the Delhi High Court, as a judge of the apex court. Justice Aparesh Kumar Singh, Chief Justice of the High Court for the State of Telangana, is also recommended for the judgeship at the Supreme Court. The recommendation was made at the Collegium meeting held on Monday. Besides the CJI, Justices Vikram Nath, B V Nagarathna, M M Sundresh and P S Narasimha were part of the Supreme Court Collegium. The Collegium's recommendation will now be processed in accordance with the established procedure for appointment of judges to the Supreme Court.
Police educate SVMC students on womens safety, cybercrime under Operation Trishul
Addressing the students, personnel explain the functioning of the Shakti app and urge them to seek police assistance without delay in emergencies
Supreme Court Collegium Recommends Three High Court Chief Justices, None in Line to Be CJI
THE SUPREME COURT COLLEGIUM has recommended the elevation of three Chief Justices of High Courts as judges of the Supreme Court. Chief Justice of the Gujarat High Court Sunita Agarwal, Chief Justice of the Delhi High Court D.K. Upadhyaya, and Chief Justice of the Telangana High Court Aparesh Kumar Singh have been recommended for elevation as judges of the Supreme Court. The decision was taken by the Collegium comprising Chief Justice of India (CJI) Surya Kant and Justices Vikram Nath, B.V. Nagarathna, M.M. Sundresh and P.S. Narasimha. If the Union Government notifies these three appointments, the strength of the Supreme Court will rise to 37 judges, including the CJI. The Supreme Court will still have one clear vacancy. Justice Sunita Agarwal Justice Agarwal comes from the Allahabad High Court. She was born on April 30, 1966, and was appointed a judge of that High Court on November 21, 2011. She has been functioning as Chief Justice of the Gujarat High Court since July 23, 2023. If appointed to the Supreme Court, she will retire on April 29, 2031. Justice D.K. Upadhyaya Justice Upadhyaya also comes from the Allahabad High Court. He was born on June 16, 1965, and was appointed a judge of the Allahabad High Court, along with Justice Agarwal, on November 21, 2011. He was appointed Chief Justice of the Bombay High Court on July 29, 2023, and was transferred from there as Chief Justice of the Delhi High Court on January 21, 2025. If appointed to the Supreme Court, he will retire on June 15, 2030. Justice Aparesh Kumar Singh Justice Singh comes from the Jharkhand High Court. He was born on July 7, 1965. He was appointed a judge of the Jharkhand High Court on January 24, 2012. He was appointed Chief Justice of the Tripura High Court on April 17, 2023, and was transferred as Chief Justice of the Telangana High Court on July 19, 2025. If appointed a judge of the Supreme Court, he will retire on July 6, 2030. None in line to become CJI None of the three would go on to become Chief Justice of India. With the appointment of Justice Agarwal, the Supreme Court will have three women judges, the others being Justice B.V. Nagarathna and Justice V. Mohana. Interestingly, Justice Shree Chandrashekhar, who was appointed to the Supreme Court on June 2, 2026, was junior to Justice Singh in inter se seniority, yet Justice Singh was superseded. Now, with Justice Singh being elevated later, he will become junior to Justice Chandrashekhar in the Supreme Court. No reasons are available for Justice Singhs supersession in June this year.
SC Collegium recommends elevation of Gujarat, Delhi, Telangana Chief Justices as apex court judges
Digital Desk | New Delhi, Sep 28 (IANS) The Supreme Court Collegium on Monday recommended the elevation of Gujarat High Court Chief Justice Sunita Agarwal, Delhi High Court Chief Justice Devendra Kumar Upadhyaya, and Telangana High Court Chief Justice Aparesh Kumar Singh as judges of the apex court. The Supreme Court Collegium in its meeting held on 28th September, 2026 has recommended elevation of the following Chief Justices of the High Courts as Judges in the Supreme Court: (i) Mrs. Justice Sunita Agarwal, Chief Justice, High Court of Gujarat (PHC: Allahabad) (ii) Mr. Justice Devendra Kumar Upadhyaya, Chief Justice, High Court of Delhi (PHC: Allahabad) (iii) Mr. Justice Aparesh Kumar Singh, Chief Justice, High Court for the State of Telangana (PHC: Jharkhand), read the SC Collegium's statement published on the apex court's official website. Born on April 30, 1966, Justice Agarwal was initially appointed as a judge of the Allahabad High Court on November 21, 2011. She became Chief Justice of the Gujarat High Court on July 23, 2023. Born on June 16, 1965, Justice Upadhyaya was appointed as a puisne Judge of the Allahabad High Court on November 21, 2011 and became a permanent Judge on August 6, 2013. He became the Senior Judge of the Lucknow Bench of the Allahabad High Court on March 28, 2023. Justice Upadhyaya was appointed Chief Justice of the Bombay High Court and took the oath on July 29, 2023. He was subsequently transferred as Chief Justice of the Delhi High Court and took the oath of office on January 21, 2025. Born on July 7, 1965, Justice Singh was appointed as an Additional Judge of the Jharkhand High Court on January 24, 2012 and was confirmed as a Permanent Judge on January 16, 2014. Justice Singh served as Acting Chief Justice of the Jharkhand High Court from December 20, 2022, to February 19, 2023. He took the oath as Chief Justice of the Tripura High Court on April 17, 2023, and was subsequently transferred as Chief Justice of the Telangana High Court, where he took the oath on July 19, 2025.
Rare Pregnancy Infections Linked To Higher Autism, Intellectual Disability Risk: Study
A large study of nearly 3.7 million people in Sweden has found that children born with certain rare infections acquired during pregnancy face significantly higher risks of autism and intellectual disability later in life.
Mobile Forensic Van to support Tiruchi Rural police in collecting evidence at crime scene
The vehicle is equiped with all tools and kits for conducting preliminary testing of evidences for grave crimes such as rape, murder, dacoity, explosion, and arson
SC takes cognisance of crimes against women, girls in Delhi-NCR
New Delhi: The Supreme Court on Monday, September 28, took suo motu cognisance of news reports about crimes against minor girls and women across Delhi-NCR, observing that such cases underline a systematic failure on the part of law enforcement authorities. The top court took cognisance of alleged gang rape of a 17-year-old girl at Aastha Get the latest updates in Hyderabad City News , Technology , Entertainment , Sports , Politics and Top Stories on WhatsApp & Telegram by subscribing to our channels. You can also download our app for Android and iOS .
Mumbai Crime Branch arrests 3 men absconding for 10 to 17 yrs in separate cases
The arrests were carried out by Crime Branch Units 8, 9 and 12 during separate operations based on technical investigations and information gathered from various sources
BJD leader criticises BJP over MMDR Amendment Act, calls it injustice to Odisha
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Giving Talent A Chance: How FFE Is Changing Lives Through Education
Foundation for Excellence (FFE) is a nonprofit organization that enables academically talented but financially constrained students in India to pursue professional higher education.
Hollywood heartthrob George Clooney got hitched to human rights lawyer Amal Alamuddin in 2014. Like many high-profile couples, the pair too sold their pictures from their glamorous wedding in Italy not for the limelight, but for a great cause. Profits from the sale were spent on numerous humanitarian causes.
Delhi High Court: Muslim personal law cannot shield sexual intercourse with wife below 18 from POCSO
The Delhi High Court has held that a marriage claimed to be valid under Muslim personal law cannot, by itself, provide immunity from prosecution under the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences Act, 2012 (POCSO) or the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, 2023 (BNS), where the wife was below 18 years of age. Justice Sanjeev Narula dismissed [] The post Delhi High Court: Muslim personal law cannot shield sexual intercourse with wife below 18 from POCSO appeared first on India Legal .
Sohrabuddin encounter case: Supreme Court issues notice on plea challenging 22 acquittals
The Supreme Court on Monday issued notice on a petition challenging the Bombay High Court judgment upholding the acquittal of 22 accused, including 21 police personnel, in the 2005 encounter case involving Sohrabuddin Shaikh, his wife Kausar Bi and aide Tulsiram Prajapati. A Bench comprising Chief Justice of India Surya Kant and Justice Joymalya Bagchi [] The post Sohrabuddin encounter case: Supreme Court issues notice on plea challenging 22 acquittals appeared first on India Legal .
Psychology Behind Sexual Assault: Experts explain why some men commit such crimes
The Astha Kunj gangrape case has renewed questions about why some men commit sexual assault. Psychiatrists and psychologists say there is no single reason, pointing to factors such as entitlement, deviant thinking, impulsive behaviour, social influences, weak fear of the law and, in some cases, mental illness.
IIT-Bombay student death: Father demands justice, begins protest in Mumbai
Ravindra Wakode said he would continue his protest until his son gets justice and those responsible are punished. Sahil's family has alleged that he faced caste discrimination at the premier institute
