On Wednesday, January 27, the Supreme Court stayed the acquittal order of the accused in the case where the Nagpur Bench of Bombay High Court had said that groping a minor's breast without "skin to skin contact" cannot be termed as sexual assault.
Moreover, the Attorney General stated that the order by Bombay High Court was "disturbing" and would create a dangerous precedent. In addition, the apex court also put on hold the acquittal under toucher charges of a 39-year-old man whose jail sentence for groping a 12-year-old in 2016 was reduced by the High Court.
Earlier on January 24, the Nagpur Bench of the Bombay High Court had stated that groping a child's breasts without 'skin-to-skin contact' would not be considered as an offence of 'sexual assault' under the Protection of Children from Sexual Offenses (POCSO) Act. Moreover, Justice Pushpa Ganediwala of the Nagpur bench of the Bombay High Court in the detailed copy of which has been made available now held that there must be "skin to skin contact with sexual intent" for an act to be considered sexual assault, shocking people across the state.
However, she added that even though the offence cannot be termed as sexual assault it can still be termed offensive as it constitutes the offence of outraging a woman's modesty under IPC section 354.
According to the victim's testimony in court, the man had taken the girl to his house in Nagpur on the pretext of giving her something to eat. He gripped her breast and attempted to remove her clothes, as recorded by Justice Ganediwala recorded in her verdict.
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