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Indian Express
15-05-2025
- Indian Express
Surat teacher who ‘kidnapped 13-year-old student' aborts pregnancy, undergoes tests to determine paternity
A 23-year-old teacher accused of kidnapping a 13-year-old student terminated her 22-week pregnancy. Fetal samples have been sent for DNA testing to determine paternity. The procedure was conducted early Thursday at SMIMER Hospital, where the teacher was brought from Surat Central Jail, where she is in judicial custody after allegedly 'eloping' with the student. She was booked on April 26 at Punagam police station under sections 137(2) (kidnapping), 127(3) (punishment for wrongful confinement) of the Bharatiya Nyay Sanhita and the POCSO Act. The two were found on April 29 in Shamlaji, near the Gujarat-Rajasthan border. The boy is undergoing counselling as he is 'in trauma,' sources told The Indian Express. On Tuesday, Special POCSO Court Judge R R Bhatt granted the application for Medical Termination of Pregnancy (MTP) filed by the unmarried accused. Following the court order, Punagam police took custody of the accused from jail on Wednesday and brought her to SMIMER Hospital, where she underwent a primary examination. A team from the Obstetrics and Gynaecology department performed the procedure. Sources at SMIMER said the accused is stable but weak due to heavy blood loss. She will remain in the hospital for a few days until fit to return to jail. Punagam police inspector V M Desai told The Indian Express, 'The fetus had been preserved and samples were taken from it, which have been sent for a DNA test at the Forensic Science Laboratory today. Through a DNA test, we would know who the father is. Once we get the report from FSL, we will submit it to the Special POCSO court in the coming days. The accused teacher will have to stay in the hospital for a few more days as her physical condition is too weak. Once she becomes physically fit, we will leave her at Surat Central Jail. A police team has been deployed at the ward where she is admitted, so that she does not escape.' Desai further added, 'We have also carried out counselling of the victim boy with the psychiatrist for five days, as he was also under mental trauma. Now his condition is reported to be stable.' An FIR was registered against the teacher on April 26 after she and the boy went missing on April 25 and the boy's father filed a complaint at Punagam police station. Following their arrest on April 29, the teacher underwent a medical examination and has since been in judicial custody at Surat Central Jail. On May 9, defence lawyer Wajid Shaikh applied to the Special POCSO court seeking permission for abortion under Section 3 of the Medical Termination of Pregnancy Act.
New Indian Express
26-04-2025
- New Indian Express
Orissa HC cautions courts against adopting casual approach to trial, sets aside death sentence
CUTTACK: The Orissa High Court has called upon all trial courts to uphold the constitutional guarantee of fairness, diligence, and due process at every stage of the proceedings. 'Courts should remain alive to the fact that the duty to conduct trials in accordance with the law becomes all the more heightened when dealing with allegations involving heinous offences punishable with death or life imprisonment. Cavalier or casual approach to such trials not only imperils the rights of the accused but also erodes the legitimacy of the criminal justice system itself,' the division bench of Justices Chittaranjan Dash and BP Routray has remarked. The observations were made as the bench quashed the conviction and death sentence awarded to the accused by a Special POCSO court in a case of rape and murder of a five-year-old girl. The incident was reported in Sundargarh district in 2016. The Additional District Judge-cum-Presiding Officer Special POCSO Court (Sundargarh) Mahendra Kumar Sutradhar convicted accused Sanjeeb Kerketta and imposed the death sentence on October 19, 2023. The death sentence order was then sent by the state government to the high court for confirmation. The division bench of Justices Chittaranjan Dash and BP Routray quashed the conviction and death sentence on Wednesday. 'In view of cumulative effect of the serious procedural irregularities, this court is of the considered opinion that a fresh trial is the only course available in the present case. Accordingly, the conviction and sentence passed against the convict are set aside. The matter is remanded to the trial Court for a de novo (fresh) trial from the stage of framing of charges,' the bench ordered. The high court upon a cumulative evaluation of the records found that the trial proceedings were afflicted by multiple and grave irregularities, including improper and inadequate examination under section 313 of the CrPC, failure to consider mitigating circumstances (such as the accused's background, mental health, and post-conviction conduct) at sentencing, and denial of a distinct and fair sentencing hearing. Conviction and sentencing were conducted on the same day. Each of these deficiencies, standing alone, would be sufficient to occasion serious prejudice, the bench observed. 'The procedural safeguards are not ornamental; they are constitutional imperatives designed to ensure that justice is not only done but seen to be done,' the bench observed and directed the trial court to ensure that the accused is afforded effective legal assistance, all prosecution witnesses are examined afresh, and that the accused is properly examined under section 313 of the CrPC, with each material circumstance put to him clearly, distinctly, and separately.
