The Supreme Court on Thursday set aside the Bombay High Court order that held that skin-to-skin contact was necessary for the offense of sexual assault under the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences Act, 2012. A bench headed by Justice UU Lalit observed that sexual intent is important in such cases and that it can’t be taken away from the purview of the Act. The purpose of the law cannot be to allow the offender to escape the meshes of the law, the apex court said. The bench also comprising Justices Ravindra Bhat and Bela M Trivedi said that restricting touch or physical contact under Section 7 of Pocso to the skin-to-skin contact will lead to absurd interpretations, and will destroy the intent of the Act that was brought to protect children. For instance, it pointed out that going by the HC interpretation, a person who uses gloves, etc while groping a child cannot be held liable under the Act. In a separate concurring judgment, Justice Bhat said the HC’s erred in coming to such a conclusion as its reasoning insensitively trivialized, legitimized, and normalized behavior which undermines the dignity of children.
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