In yet another ignorant and estranging ruling, the Nagpur bench of the Bombay high court observed that the act of opening the zip of pants does not come under the ambit of "sexual assault" under the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act 2012.?
The single-judge bench ruling, pronounced by Justice Pushpa Ganediwala, noted that "the act of holding a girl's hands and opening the zip of pants will not come under the definition of sexual assault”. The act would instead amount to "sexual harassment"? under Section 354-A (1) (i) of the Indian Penal Code.
The ruling was pronounced in a criminal appeal against the conviction and sentence awarded to a 50-year-old man for molesting a five-year-old girl.
The Session Court had convicted the man and ruled it to be "aggravated sexual assault" punishable under Section 10 of POCSO. He was sentenced to five years of rigorous imprisonment and a fine of Rs 25,000 with a default imprisonment of six months.
Later, Justice Ganediwala set aside his conviction under Sections 8, 10 and 12 of POCSO Act. He was then held guilty under Section 354A (1) (i) IPC, which carries a maximum imprisonment of three years.
The Nagpur bench observed that the case comes under the gambit of “sexual harassment” and not “sexual assault”. “The offence of sexual harassment under Section 354A (1) (i), which deals with physical contact and advances involving unwelcome and explicit sexual overtures, is attracted in the case,” it said.
The same bench had earlier ruled that groping a minor's breast without "skin to skin contact" cannot be termed as sexual assault as defined under the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act, the Court had observed.
Justice Pushpa Ganediwala of the Nagpur bench of the Bombay High Court, in a judgement passed on January 19, held that there must be "skin to skin contact with sexual intent" for an act to be considered sexual assault.
She said in her verdict that mere groping will not fall under the definition of sexual assault.