Attorney General Rebukes Controversial Bombay HC Order on ‘Skin-to-Skin Contact’ for POCSO Offenders

Attorney General of India, K.K. Venugopal took strong objection to a recent Bombay High Court judgment with regard to “skin-to-skin contact” under the POCSO Act. The Attorney General is referring to the Bombay HC judgment wherein the court held that skin-to-skin contact is necessary for a sexual offence to be registered under the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act, 2012.

The Bombay HC said in its judgment that when there’s “no direct physical contact—skin to skin with sexual intent, without penetration, it would not amount to the offence under Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act.” The court acquitted the accused stating that “stricter proof and serious allegations are required.” 

Read - New Bombay High Court Guidelines Aims To Effectively Administer The POCSO Act

Appearing before a Supreme Court bench of Justices U U Lalit and Ajay Rastogi, the Attorney General deemed the Bombay HC judgment as “outrageous,” adding that this could have bigger implications on around 43,000 POCSO cases registered each year.  

“If tomorrow a person wears a pair of surgical gloves and feels the entire body of a woman, he won't be punished for sexual assault as per this judgment. This is outrageous. Saying that skin-to-skin contact is required would mean a person wearing gloves getting an acquittal. The Judge clearly didn't see the far reaching consequences,” the AG said.

The National Commission for Women (NCW) and the Maharashtra Government have backed the AG’s stance while pleading for a reversal of the Bombay HC verdict. The NCW filed its own appeal against the Bombay HC order through advocate Nitin Saluja. 

“If such a perverse interpretation of physical contact is allowed, it will adversely impact the basic rights of women, who are victims of sexual offences in the society and will undermine the beneficial statutory safeguards prescribed under various legislations aimed at protecting the interest of women,” the NCW said.

The Supreme Court proceedings were then adjourned since the accused was not present for the proceedings.

Also read - Maharashtra Ranks No 1 In The List Of POCSO Cases Filed Between 2017-19