AG KK VENUGOPAL URGED REVERSAL OF THE CONTROVERSIAL JUDGMENT PASSED BY THE BOMBAY HC - "THERE SHOULD BE A SKIN TO SKIN CONTACT IN ORDER FOR IT TO BE AN OFFENCE U/S OF POCSO"

Attorney General KK Venugopal urged the top court to reverse the controversial judgment passed by Bombay HC of Nagpur bench, which held that in order to bring any offence under POSCO as sexual assault, there should skin to skin contact between the accused and child.

The AG termed the judgment as dangerous and outrageous. He further submitted that this would mean that a man who sexually assaulted a child after wearing surgical gloves will not be punished for sexual assault. The AG highlighted that there are 43,000 POCSO offences in one year.

The bench of Justices UU Lalit and Ajay Rastogi heard an appeal filed by the AG against the order passed by the Nagpur bench of Bombay HC. The Nagpur bench acquitted an accused after observing that he groped a minor over her clothes, and therefore it would not amount to sexual assault u/s 8 of POCSO act. The court held that there should be skin to skin contact between the accused and the victim. On August 6, Advocate Dave was appointed as amicus curiae in the matter before SC. Alongside, the top court was also hearing an appeal by the State of Maharashtra against the Order passed by Bombay HC whereby it was held that holding a minor girl's hand to unzip pants does not fit under the definition of section 8 of the POCSO Act. 

Today the bench directed the SC legal service committee to make available to senior advocates to represent the two accused in both the appeals. 

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

Author: Papiha Ghoshal