Touching Child's Private Parts With Sexual Intent Sufficient To Attract POCSO Act, Absence Of Injury Not Relevant: Bombay High Court

Merely touching the private parts of a child with sexual intent is enough for it to be construed as sexual assault under section 7 of the POCSO Act and a medical certificate demonstrating an injury is not mandatory, the Bombay High Court has held. "The absence of injury mentioned in the medical certificate will not make any difference to her case because the very nature of the offence of sexual assault defined under Section 7 of the POCSO Act mentions that even touching private part with sexual intent is sufficient to attract the provisions of Section 7 read with Section 8 of the POCSO Act." Justice Sarang Kotwal dismissed the appeal by the man convicted for the sexual assault of a minor girl in 2013. In November 2017, the special POCSO held him guilty for offences punishable under section 354 (assault or criminal force to woman with intent to outrage her modesty) of the Indian Penal Code (IPC) and section 8 (sexual assault) of the POCSO Act. He was sentenced to five years of rigorous imprisonment. It was the prosecution's case that the man picked up the girl while she was playing with her friends outside the house and touched and pinched her private parts. A complaint was lodged after the mother approached the police. The victim's statement was recorded under section 164 of the CrPC. The accused submitted that the girl's father falsely implicated him after a quarrel and there was two-day delay in filing of the FIR. The case was also doubtful because no injury was revealed on the victim's body, he argued. However, the bench said that "the victim has described the incident in sufficient detail. The victim appears to be a truthful witness. There was no possibility of the victim identifying the appellant wrong." Moreover, sexual assault as described under section 7 of the POCSO Act was made out as sexual intent was proved even in absence of injuries as medical evidence. "In this case, the ocular evidence of the victim and her mother inspires confidence and there is no reason to doubt their versions. The defence of the appellant does not really help his cause. Thus, considering all these aspects, no case for interference with the impugned judgment and order is made out. The appeal is, therefore, dismissed." Case Title: Ramchandra Shrimant Bhandare Versus The State of MaharashtraCitation : 2022 LiveLaw (Bom) 307Click Here To Read/Download Order

Touching Child's Private Parts With Sexual Intent Sufficient To Attract POCSO Act, Absence Of Injury Not Relevant: Bombay High Court

Sharmeen Hakim

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