Pocso cases more complicated than they seem, say experts

That Karnataka assembly elections are approaching is evident from vigorous campaigning by even people who have not been officially nominated by their parties. All major parties have multiple aspirants in constituencies. In this backdrop, KPCC working president Saleem Ahmed, MLC, in an interview with The Observer, claimed a pro-Congress wave that is sweeping Karnataka will bring the party to power.

The BJP has made Karnataka the “corruption capital of India”, he told Yukta Mudgal.

Ahmed said the ideological battle between the Congress and BJP is more important than the declaration of a CM candidate.

Full interview on P 3

By Siddhi Chauhan

Citing two Karnataka High Court judgments, experts say the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (Pocso) Act is complicated and should be understood contextually in every case.

OnApril 5, 2023, the court refused bail to a 23-year-oldman under the Pocso Act who promised to marry a 17-year-old rape survivor. The High Court denied bail to the man as they felt that the minor’s consent statement cannot be taken as truth.

In a different case in 2022, the court had allowed a compromise in a case registered under the

Pocso Act does not recognise any form of sexual contact between children

Pocso Act as the girl who was allegedly sexually assaulted by the accused was married to him during the pendency of the case. The girl claimed the relationship was consensual.

Asked if marriage can be a solution, Aiswarya Saji, an advo- cate, said: “There have been cases wherein the accused is given bail to marry the victim. In my opinion, it is not optimal to consider marriage as a viable solution for a particular case as the end of justice may not be necessarily met, simply because the victim might agree to the same because of external factors like the fear of ridicule from society.”

Highlighting the severity of the issue, she said: “It affects the already failing legal system of our country as it provides an easy mechanism for offenders to exempt themselves from the charges, without any ramification on the children .”

Continued on page 4

Jharkhand minister Jagarnath Mahto, who had earlier undergone a lung transplant, died at a hospital in Chennai on Thursday, a senior doctor of the health facility said. He was 57. PTI Oppn takes out ‘Tiranga March’ from Parliament

Opposition MPs on Thursday took out a ‘Tiranga March’ from Parliament to Vijay Chowk on the last day of the budget session of Parliament. ANI Hindenburg tweets: ‘New report soon’ Hindenburg Research will soon release a new report, the US short seller said in a tweet. The latest tweet by the New Yorkbased research firm didn’t provide any specifics on the timing of the next report’s release, or what it intends to say. Bloomberg

Second Cong list out, no decision on Kolar Congress announced its second list of 42 candidates on Thursday for the Karnataka assembly elections but took no decision on who would contest from Kolar. Former chief minister Siddaramaiah has expressed a desire to contest from the constituency. ANI We will fight graft and nepotism, says Modi

Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Thursday said the BJP is committed to taking tough steps to rid India of corruption, nepotism and law-and-order challenges as he slammed people with a “baadshahi” mindset for insulting the poor and the backward since the party stormed to power in 2014. PTI RBI keeps repo rate unchanged at 6.5 pc

The Reserve Bank of India on Thursday decided to keep key benchmark policy rate at 6.5 per cent even as inflation is trending above its tolerance level The rate hike has been paused after six consecutive rate increases aggregating to 250 basis points since May 2022. PTI