Team News Riveting
New Delhi, November 18
The Supreme Court on Thursday set aside the controversial Bombay High Court judgment that had held that pressing the breast of a child without removing her clothes will not amount to ‘sexual assault’ under Section 7 of the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act since there was no “skin-to-skin” contact.
A Bench of Justices U U Lalit, S Ravindra Bhat and Bela M Trivedi held that the intension of the offence of ‘sexual assault’ under POCSO is sexual intent and skin to skin contact in such incidents is not relevant.
The law has to be given an interpretation that gives effect to the intention of legislature instead of defeating it, the Court said. “The most important ingredient of for constituting the offence of sexual assault is sexual intent and not skin to skin contact with the child. Construction of a rule should give effect to rule rather than destroying it. The intention of legislature cannot be given effect to unless wider interpretation is given,” it added.
Mandating “skin to skin” contact would amount to a narrow and absurd interpretation, the Court observed.
Hence, the Court ruled that any act of touching any sexual part of a child with sexual intent cannot be taken away from the purview of Section 7 of the POCSO Act.
