National News
SC worried about listing of cases in High Courts; asks Allahabad HC to hear Ansari’s plea at earliest

New Delhi, Jan 9: The Supreme Court on Thursday expressed worry regarding listing of cases in some High Courts, particularly, the Allahabad High Court, where it said that the process of filing and listing of cases has collapsed.
“In some of the High Courts, we don’t know what will happen. Allahabad HC is one of the High Courts which really one should be worried about. Unfortunately, filing has collapsed, listing has collapsed, nobody knows which matter will be listed,” the Supreme Court remarked.
The observation fell from a Bench of Justices Surya Kant and N Kotiswar Singh as it dealt with an application filed by Abbas Ansari, son of late gangster-turned-politician Mukhtar Ansari.
Senior advocate Kapil Sibal, appearing on Abbas Ansari’s behalf, submitted that despite an apex court order for expeditious hearing, no effective hearing took place before the Allahabad High Court on his prayer for interim protection in a writ petition against an ex-parte government order declaring a piece of land an evacuee property (government property).
Sibal added that while other co-owners secured interim relief from the Allahabad HC, Abbas Ansari’s plea for interim protection was not taken up for hearing at all.
After hearing the contentions raised, the Justice-Kant led Bench ordered that the matter be listed earliest before the Allahabad High Court and in the meantime, directed parties to maintain status quo in respect of the disputed site.
In an earlier round of litigation, Sibal had contended that the Uttar Pradesh authorities, after taking physical possession of Abbas Ansari’s plot, have started construction of some dwelling units at the site under the Awas Yojana.
Thereafter, the apex court had requested the Lucknow Bench of the Allahabad HC to take up the application for interim stay moved by Abbas Ansari “as early as possible” and in any case on November 4, 2024.
In its October 21 order, it said, “We request the Allahabad High Court to take up the application out of turn, if so required, so that the prayer of the petitioner for interim protection can be appropriately adjudicated.”
As per Abbas Ansari’s petition, his grandfather purchased a share in Plot No. 93 located at village Jiainau of Lucknow through a registered sale deed in 2004. The said property was allegedly gifted by him to his wife Rabia Begum, who then bequeathed the same through a registered will to Abbas Ansari and his brother Umar Ansari.
In 2020, a Sub-Divisional Magistrate in Lucknow passed an order declaring the plot an evacuee property and dispossessing the Ansari brothers.
Challenging this, Abbas and Umar Ansari moved a writ petition before the Lucknow Bench of the Allahabad High Court.
In the Supreme Court, Abbas Ansari stated that though their writ petition was listed repeatedly, no interim stay was passed in their favour, as was done in the case of other affected persons.
Recently, a Bench of Justices J.B. Pardiwala and R. Mahadevan expressed “shock” after it was told that the bail application of a murder accused has been pending before the Allahabad High Court for the past four years.
The Justice Pardiwala-led Bench asked the apex court registry to forward its order to the Chief Justice of Allahabad HC for his consideration.
It said: “We are shocked to learn from the learned counsel appearing for the petitioner that the bail application filed by the petitioner in the High Court of Judicature at Allahabad bearing Criminal Miscellaneous Bail Application No. 40542 of 2020 is still pending as on date.”
Crime
Rise In Child Sexual Assaults By Teachers In Mumbai Sparks Alarming Questions

In recent days, incidents of sexual assault on minors or students by teachers in Mumbai have been increasing, which is a serious issue in society. A private tutor in Malad sexually abused a 7-year-old girl. The Dindoshi police have arrested the accused, a 44-year-old teacher from Goregaon who provided private tutoring to young girls at home. The victim, who lived in the same building, had been attending his tutoring sessions since August 2024. The accused lured her into his bedroom under the pretext of showing her games on his mobile and exploited her innocence to sexually abuse her.
After noticing behavioural changes in their daughter, the parents questioned her, and she revealed the horrific abuse. The teacher had been assaulting her for nearly a year, from August 2024 to July 9, 2025. On July 9, a 22-year-old karate instructor, who taught children, was arrested by the Shivaji Park police for sexually abusing a 12-year-old girl. On June 25, a 50-year-old teacher from a reputed coaching class in Bhayander was found to have sexually abused a 17-year-old FY BA student between October and November 2024.
In November 2024, Amit Dubey, 50, a school teacher in Nalasopara’s Santosh Bhuvan area, was accused of raping a 14-year-old student in his private class from October to November 2024. On July 3, 2025, a 40-year-old female teacher from a prestigious Dadar school was arrested for sexually abusing a 16-year-old student over several months, including taking him to a five-star hotel. There are several unreported incidents as well.
Statement Of Uma Subramanian
Uma Subramanian, Co-founder and Director RATI Foundation & Child’s Rights Activist, stated, “I would not say the incidents are increasing, but they are now coming to light more frequently. The media is reporting them more prominently. People are shocked because these cases involve prestigious schools.”
She added, “Schools often scrutinise peons, drivers, and caretakers for character verification, but fail to check the backgrounds of teachers. This reflects a class and caste bias. When such cases arise, schools often deflect responsibility, claiming the incidents happened outside school premises or that parents are unwilling to file complaints. While every school has a child protection policy, most children and parents remain unaware of it. Schools may conduct awareness sessions but avoid taking legal action, shifting the burden onto parents. few come forward to file cases.”
“Section 19 of the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act mandates reporting offences against children. However, many cases go unreported because the legal process is traumatic for victims and their families. Filing an FIR takes 8-10 hours, medical examinations could span over days… frequent police station visits are required, and the judicial process is tiring. As a result, no one wants to go through the process, definitely not the big schools or the elite privileged folks. The law is robust and child-friendly on paper, but most systems are not. Also, the elite in India can get away more easily with anything, isn’t it?,” the activist said.
Psychologist Lisha Chedda’s Statement
Psychologist Lisha Chedda stated, “Usually, in such incidents, the accused follows a certain process called grooming. They spend time with the child, gain their trust, build rapport, and then abuse them. Two things severely impact the child mentally: their trust is broken, and they are left terrified. Often, people don’t believe the child after they disclose abuse, which further violates their trust. Sometimes, gender bias also comes into play—people may think, ‘If the victim is a boy, what could have happened to him?’ This is wrong. Abuse is abuse; it is sexual violence. The child may become traumatised and feel deep shame, which can be internalised.Chedda added, “Everybody has a stress response system: fight, flight, freeze, flop or fawn. These are natural reactions. Studies show that in sexual assault cases, most victims freeze. The child becomes extremely scared and often freezes. First of all, no one immediately believes the child. They keep questioning why the child didn’t scream or run away. The child’s response is not taken seriously.
The kind of response they receive from the adults around them affects their lifelong trauma. If the child receives mental health support, along with parental and school support, the impact on them can be much less severe.”
Advocate Persis Sidhva’s Statement
Advocate Persis Sidhva, stated, “The courts generally take these cases seriously. Parents send their children to school believing it to be a safe place. Schools must have and strictly implement a child protection policy. These policies shouldn’t exist just on paper – they need to be actively enforced. Parents need to be aware of the POCSO Act and that it mandates strict punishments, especially when teachers are the accused, as these cases constitute aggravated offences with harsher punishments.”
“In court, we often see that schools either lack commitment or frequently side with the accused to protect the institution’s reputation. This fear leads them to support the perpetrator, leaving children and their families without proper support. In most cases, schools fail to create an environment where the child and family feel comfortable continuing their education there. This often results in a significant loss for the child-first they suffer abuse, then they’re forced to change schools, while parents must deal with numerous additional challenges, including a legal case.” Advocate Sidhva added.
Crime
UP Shocker: Mother Of 5 Children Dies After Beaten Up By 24-Year-Old Lover Over Breakup In Noida

A mother of five children died after her 24-year-old allegedly beaten her up following a heated argument over breakup on Monday in Noida. According to reports, the victim has been identified as Neeraj. The police registered a case of culpable homicide not amounting to murder and arrested the accused boyfriend.
According to police, woman’s husband Satish, originally a resident of village Hathni Gud in Badaun district, works in a private company. He lives on rent in a house located in Mamura village with his wife Neeraj and five children. Neeraj had an extramarital affair with Arjun, a resident of village Sahpur in Shahjahanpur district who lived in the neighbourhood, for the past three years.
Arjun worked as a housekeeper in a private company located in Sector-59. Husband Satish was unaware of their affair. Neeraj went to meet Arjun in his room in the neighbourhood on Monday evening around 6 PM. Here, a fight broke out between the two about breakup. After the argument, Arjun physically assaulted Neeraj. During this, Neeraj became unconscious and fell to the ground.
Panicked Arjun rushed her to a nearby hospital, from where the woman was referred to Kailash Hospital. Seeing no improvement in her condition, the woman was referred to the district hospital, where doctors declared her dead.
After being alerted, police arrived and sent the body for the post-mortem. They also took boyfriend Arjun into custody. Family members allege that Arjun murdered Neeraj by strangulation.
According to police, the woman had married Satish about 13 years ago. The couple has five children. To educate the children, Satish brought Neeraj from his ancestral village to Noida about five years ago. While living in lane number eight, Neeraj became friends with Arjun, who lived in the neighbourhood. Gradually, the friendship between the two turned into a love affair. Arjun is 24 years old and unmarried.
National News
Odisha Self-Immolation Case: Congress Workers Stage Protest Over Balasore Student’s Death Outside AIIMS Bhubaneswar

Bhubaneswar (Odisha): Tensions flared outside AIIMS Bhubaneswar on Tuesday morning as Congress workers staged a protest following the death of a 20-year-old student from Balasore who had attempted self-immolation.
The protesting Congress workers were detained by police.
AIIMS Bhubaneswar Confirms The Death Of The Student
Earlier on Monday, the All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS) Bhubaneswar confirmed the death of the 20-year-old student from Fakir Mohan Autonomous College in Odisha’s Balasore, who had attempted self-immolation.
The Department of Burn Centre, AIIMS Bhubaneswar, said in a statement that the patient was brought to the casualty on July 12 and was referred from Balasore District Headquarters Hospital to AIIMS Bhubaneswar.
“She was admitted to the Burns Centre ICU. The patient was resuscitated with IV fluids, IV antibiotics, intubated and put on mechanical ventilation. Despite adequate resuscitation and all possible supportive management, including renal replacement therapy at the Burns ICU, she could not be revived and was declared clinically dead at 11:46 PM on July 14,” the statement said.
The 20-year-old student set herself on fire after allegedly facing prolonged sexual harassment by her college’s Head of Department. Despite lodging a formal complaint and seeking help from the principal, her pleas were ignored, leading to the tragic incident. The incident occurred at Fakir Mohan (Autonomous) College.
Odisha CM Mohan Charan Majhi Expresses Grief
Odisha Chief Minister Mohan Charan Majhi expressed grief and assured the family of the deceased that all those guilty in this case will face the strictest punishment as per the law.
In a post on X, CM Majhi said, “I am deeply saddened to hear the news of the demise of the female student from Fakir Mohan Autonomous College. Despite the government’s fulfilment of all responsibilities and the tireless efforts of the expert medical team, the victim’s life could not be saved. I pray for the eternal peace of her departed soul and beseech Lord Jagannath to grant strength to her family to bear this irreparable loss.”
“I assure the family of the deceased student that all those guilty in this case will face the strictest punishment as per the law. For this, I have personally issued instructions to the authorities. The government stands firmly with the family,” the Odisha CM emphasised.
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