Delhi court grants bail to man accused in POCSO case
New Delhi (PTI): A Delhi court has granted bail to a man accused of raping a minor girl, saying the victim did not allege forcible penetrative sexual assault, nor did her family members oppose the bail plea.
Additional Sessions Judge Mona Tardi Kerketta was hearing the bail plea of the man, who was 23 at the time of the alleged rape of the 17-year-old girl.
The accused had been in jail since last November after a case was registered against him under the penal provision for rape and under Section 6 (aggravated penetrative sexual assault) of the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act.
In the order dated January 6, the court noted that a complaint had been registered by the victim's sister, which said the minor girl was missing.
After investigation, it was found that she had eloped with the accused to Agra and married him, and that the couple had an eight-month-old girl.
It said the "aggravating circumstances" for the grant of bail in a POCSO case, as laid down by the Supreme Court, did not exist in the present matter.
“The age difference between them is not vast, as the accused was about 23 and the victim about 17 at the time of the alleged incident. There is no allegation of forcible sexual assault, nor is there an allegation of any kind of physical violence or abuse by the accused,” the court said.
The victim and her family members did not oppose the bail plea and, in fact, requested that the accused be granted the relief so that he could support the victim and her minor child, it said.
“The victim, though not major, was not of such a tender age that she could not understand the implication of her sexual relationship with the accused,” the court observed.
It said that in the name of investigation, police merely produced the victim before the child welfare committee, recorded her statement before a magistrate, obtained a blood sample of the accused and issued notice to the first attended school of the victim for providing her age-related documents.
“The accused has been in judicial custody since November 24, 2025, and admittedly, custodial interrogation is not required for further investigation. The victim has also not made any allegations of forceful penetrative sexual assault against the accused in any of her statements,” the court noted, and granted the accused bail on furnishing personal and surety bonds of Rs 25,000 each.
Other conditions of bail included the accused joining the investigation when required, not influencing witnesses or tampering with evidence, and appearing regularly to face trial.
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Real Madrid fines Valverde and Tchouaméni half a million euros each for altercation
Barcelona (AP): Real Madrid slapped players Federico Valverde and Aurélien Tchouaméni with half-a-million-euro ($588,000) fines on Friday for their altercation during practice.
The massive fines came a day after the midfielders tussled when the team trained. Valverde said in a post on social media on Thursday that no punches were thrown. But Valverde knocked his head on a table and he suffered a small cut that required a brief hospital visit.
On social media, Valverde initially called it a “meaningless fight” with a teammate and said “everything has been blown out of proportion."
His employers, however, considered it a significant enough breach of team discipline to nail both Valverde and Tchouaméni with fines that bite even the bank account of a top soccer player. The half-a-million euro penalties reflect the reputational damage the club was enduring in a chaotic end to a disappointing season.
In a statement, the 15-time European champion said its disciplinary action was concluded after both players expressed to the club “their complete remorse for what happened and apologized to one another.”
Madrid added they also apologized to their teammates, the coaching staff and club supporters, as well as showing their willingness to accept whatever disciplinary action the club deemed “opportune.”
Tchouaméni was back training with Madrid on Friday, two days before they play at Barcelona in a clasico. Madrid has to win otherwise Barcelona will be crowned La Liga champion.
After being notified of the fine, he posted a public apology to the club and its fans on social media.
“What happened this week in training is unacceptable,” Tchouaméni wrote. "I say this while thinking about the example we are expected to set for young people, whether in football or at school.
“Above all, I am sorry for the image we projected of the club.”
Valverde was not at practice due to the head knock.
Both players are set to play in the World Cup next month, with Tchouaméni playing for France and Valverde for Uruguay.
Chaotic end to a poor season
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The run-in between the players, who for seasons have played side by side in Madrid's midfield, came after they argued this week in previous training sessions. But tempers boiled over on Thursday. Spanish media was rife with reports that the players previously disagreed over the club's decision to let coach Xabi Alonso go after just months on the job.
It was not the only altercation involving Madrid players during training this week. Álvaro Carreras confirmed he was in a “minor” incident with a teammate. Spanish media said he and fellow defender Antonio Rüdiger got into a scuffle.
Álvaro Arbeloa, the coach who was promoted from Madrid's reserve team when Alonso was fired in January, will face tough questions on what went wrong inside the changing room when he gives a press conference on Saturday ahead of the clasico at Camp Nou.
Madrid is facing a second consecutive campaign without a major trophy amid rumors in the Spanish media that club president Florentino Pérez is considering bringing back Jose Mourinho to straighten out his underperforming team.
