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  • Friday, 29 March 2024
Supreme Court reverses Bombay High Court's

Supreme Court reverses Bombay High Court's "skin to skin" decision, not touch

Supreme Court reverses Bombay High Court's "skin to skin" decision, not touch 

 

The Supreme Court on Thursday overturned a controversial decision of the Bombay High Court Nagpur Bench, which held that skin-to-skin "skin to skin" charges for the offense of sexual assault under the Protection of Children from Sexual Offenses (POCSO) Act. Contact is required.

A bench of Justice Uday Umesh Lalit, Justice S Ravindra Bhat, and Justice Bela M Trivedi delivered the judgment in an appeal filed by the Attorney General, National Commission for Women and the State of Maharashtra against the High Court.

  

 

The bench has observed that prohibiting 'touch' or 'physical contact' under section 7 of POCSO is absurd and would destroy the intent of the Act, which is to protect children from sexual offences.

If this interpretation is followed, a person who uses gloves or other similar material while physically groping will not be convicted of an offence. This would be a ridiculous situation.

The most important factor is sexual intent, not skin-to-skin contact.

As per the impugned judgment, the High Court (Nagpur Bench) acquitted one of the accused holding that groping the breasts of a minor girl on her clothes is not 'sexual assault' under section 8 of POCSO. The High Court held that there must be skin-to-skin contact to commit an offense under Section 8 POCSO, and that the Act in question would constitute only a case of molestation under Section 354 IPC.

 

The Attorney General insisted that the High Court's decision went against the legislative intent.

Senior advocate Siddharth Dave, who acted as amicus curiae in the case, argued that there was no need for skin to skin touch as the word "naked" was missing from S.7 of POCSO. He argued that "when two interpretations are possible, the one that suits the child should be taken."

 Abench headed by the then CJI SA Bobde had stayed the judgment to the extent of acquittal under Section 8 of the POCSO.

Both the decisions were passed by Bombay High Court Judge Justice Pushpa Ganediwala (Nagpur Bench).

 
NEWS COURTESY BY : LAW TREND
 
 

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