Overview
- On February 14, a special POCSO court refused to discharge a West Bengal-based doctor and Shomita Banerjee, so the case proceeds against all three accused.
- Special Judge Sabina A Malik found that the prosecution’s material, if accepted as true, discloses the ingredients of the alleged offences and justifies a trial.
- Invoking statutory presumptions in POCSO cases, the court said pleas of alibi, improbability, or false implication are matters for evidence and cross-examination at trial.
- Prosecutors allege former SoBo school teacher Bipasha Kumar lured a 17-year-old student to hotels, supplied alcohol, and sexually exploited him on multiple occasions, allegations she denies.
- The doctor is accused of urging meetings and prescribing anti-anxiety pills to the boy, while Banerjee allegedly coaxed him; the doctor was arrested on July 18, 2025 and granted bail on July 31, 2025.