The Supreme Court is the last pillar of Indian democracy but it knew an adverse finding against a sitting prime minister would hasten the collapse of the entire edifice.
Controversial Bombay HC judge now faces ignominy of extended probation, writes Olav Albuquerque
A judge, who was a deputy director of the state judicial academy, could not envisage the cascading effect her acquittals could have on those charged under POCSO. A judge has to interpret the statute in such a way to ensure that no absurd result follows from a strict and narrow interpretation.
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Judges infuse new meaning into the law made by the legislature, to make it effective, or sometimes â as in the case of two judgments rendered by a single judge of the Nagpur bench of the Bombay high court â ineffective. The problem here is an accused is presumed guilty until he proves himself innocent under the stringent Protection of Children from Sexual Offences Act (POCSO), 2012. But the more stringent the punishment, the weightier the evidence needed to convict a pervert.