New Delhi, Nov 18, 2021: The Supreme Court set aside a judgment of the Bombay High Court that held that "skin-to-skin" contact was necessary for the offence of sexual assault under the POCSO Act.
A bench of Justices UU Lalit, S Ravindra Bhat and Bela Trivedi said restricting the meaning of "touch" to "skin-to-skin" contact would lead to "narrow and absurd interpretation" and destroy the intent of the Act, which was enacted to protect children from sexual offences.
"Touching through clothes/sheet with sexual intent is covered in the definition of POCSO. Courts should not be overzealous in searching for ambiguity in words that are plain," the Supreme Court said. "Narrow pedantic interpretation that would defeat the purpose of the provisions cannot be allowed," the court further said.
Courtesy:India Today