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Time of India
04-07-2025
- General
- Time of India
CNLU workshop formulates foolproof action plan on POSH
1 2 Patna: A five-day capacity building workshop on 'Sexual Harassment of Women at Workplace (POSH) Act, 2013', organised by Gender Resource Centre (GRC) of Chanakya National Law University (CNLU) in collaboration with the United Nations Population Fund and state women and child development corporation, concluded here on Friday with the formulation of a foolproof action plan. This workshop had three-fold objectives — creating competent trainers, enhancing awareness and compliance, and driving sustainable impact via post-training support. The programme equipped the participants with the knowledge, skills and resources, enabling them to become effective trainers for leading similar capacity-building programmes at the district and block levels. A key feature of the workshop was the orientation on the "SHe-Box'(Sexual Harassment electronic Box), an online portal launched by the ministry of women and child development. More than 100 nodal officers and district-level administrators for POSH attended the workshop, aimed at equipping them with the knowledge and skills required for the effective implementation of the Act. A panel of experts, including Smita Jha of IIT-Roorkee, legal activist Anchal Gupta, advocate Apoorv Yadav from Lucknow bench of Allahabad high court, and legal consultants Gandhali Bhide and Vinda Mahajan, monitored the technical sessions of the workshop and trained the officials. At the outset, CNLU-GRC's director Ayushi Dubey welcomed the participants.
Time of India
15-05-2025
- Time of India
Chhattisgarh High Court Orders Swift Trial in Sexual Assault Case
RAIPUR: The has directed the trial court to avoid unnecessary adjournments and strictly adhere to the mandate of day-to-day hearings under Section 309 of the Criminal Procedure Code (CrPC). Tired of too many ads? go ad free now This directive comes as the court expressed concern over the sluggish pace of proceedings in a heinous criminal case involving charges of and criminal conspiracy. Justice Arvind Kumar Verma, while hearing a petition under Section 528 of the Bhartiya Nagrik Suraksha Sanhita (BNSS), 2023, expressed concern that despite the seriousness of the charges, the trial barely moved forward over the past three years. Only two of the 29 listed witnesses were examined so far, even though the charge sheet was filed in March 2021 and charges were framed in October 2024. The petitioner, represented by panel lawyer Smita Jha, pointed out that the accused couple consistently delayed the trial, which is reflected in the trial court's own order sheets. The case involves offences under Sections 307 (attempt to murder), 454 (house-trespass), 354 (outraging modesty), 376 (rape), and several other serious provisions of the IPC, as well as Section 66(E) of the Information Technology Act. The state counsel, Umakant Singh Chandel, raised no objection to the petitioner's request for expeditious disposal and sought reasonable time for the conclusion of the trial. Citing the mandatory provisions of Section 309 CrPC, which require trial proceedings to be continued from day to day and completed within two months in certain offences related to sexual assault, the court observed, 'There is a clear delay in the trial despite the nature of the case and the time already elapsed.' Tired of too many ads? go ad free now Accordingly, the High Court directed the trial court to make an 'earnest endeavour' to conclude the trial within three months of receiving the order, excluding the summer vacation period from May 12 to June 6, 2025. The court also instructed that certified copies of the order be sent to the trial court without delay. The petition was allowed to the limited extent of directing the speedy conclusion of the trial in accordance with the law and the time schedule laid down by the court.
