SC concerned over misuse of POCSO cases, says awareness needed
New Delhi (PTI): The POCSO act is being being misused in cases of marital discord and consensual relationships between adolescents, the Supreme Court said on Tuesday while stressing the need to spread awareness in boys and men about its legal provisions.
A bench of Justices B V Nagarathna and R Mahadevan was hearing a PIL seeking directions to sensitise people about the penal provisions for rape and the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act to make the country a better place for girls and women.
"One thing, we would like to remark. POCSO Act is being misused in cases of marital discords and matters pertaining to consensual relationships between adolescents. We should spread awareness in boys and men about the legal provisions," the bench remarked orally.
The apex court adjourned the PIL to December 2 and noted that some states and union territories had not filed a response in the matter.
The apex court had earlier issued notices to the Centre, the Union ministries of Education and Information and Broadcasting and the Central Board of Film Certification (CBFC) on the plea filed by senior advocate Aabad Harshad Ponda.
Ponda said there is need to inform people about the laws regarding rape and the change in such laws after the Nirbhaya case.
The plea seeks several measures, including directing the education ministry to ask all educational institutions providing free and compulsory education to children aged up to 14 years to incorporate the penal provisions regarding offences against women and children.
The subject of moral training also has to be included to ensure awareness about sexual equality, the rights of women and girls and their freedom to live with dignity, it says.
"Particularly, endeavours are required to be made to change the mindset of the boys in this country, an exercise that must start at the level of school," it states.
According to it, there should be similar directions to the Information and Broadcasting ministry, CBFC and other broadcasting authorities to highlight the awareness of the folly of committing rape and its punishments and educating the public about the POCSO Act.
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'Ab kya hoga, ye rab jane...': Tharoor takes dig at failed US-Iran talks in Pakistan
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New Delhi (PTI): Senior Congress leader Shashi Tharoor on Monday took a swipe at the "failed" US-Iran peace talks in Pakistan with an Urdu couplet, saying only god knows now what will happen.
"Ab kya hoga, ye rab jane; Na woh mane, na ye mane (only god knows what will happen now as both sides did not agree)," Tharoor said on X, tagging a post-talks video clip of US Vice President J D Vance, who led the American delegation at the negotiations in Islamabad.
The United States and Iran failed to reach a peace deal at their historic 21-hour talks in Pakistan, leaving the fate of a tenuous two-week ceasefire in doubt, with both sides attempting to hold each other responsible for the collapse of the negotiations.
अब क्या होगा, ये रब जाने
— Shashi Tharoor (@ShashiTharoor) April 13, 2026
ना वो माने, ना ये माने https://t.co/DYrXpa7C8h
Vance said the Iranian side did not accept Washington's terms for ending the war even as the US presented its "final and best offer".
Hours after the talks collapsed, US President Donald Trump said on social media that the negotiations with Tehran failed as "Iran is unwilling to give up its nuclear ambitions".
Trump said the US Navy will actively interdict any vessel in international waters found to have paid tolls to Iran for transiting through the Strait of Hormuz, a critical shipping route that handles roughly 20 per cent of global oil and LNG (Liquefied Natural Gas).
Iranian Parliament Speaker Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf, the head of the Iranian negotiation team, said it is for the US to decide whether it can "earn our trust or not".
The Iranian foreign ministry, without elaborating, said the US side resorted to "excessive" and "illegal demands".
The failure to reach an agreement has dimmed the prospect of reopening the Strait of Hormuz to stabilise the global energy marke
