Delhi HC clarifies act of 'touch' not manipulation for offence of penetrative sexual assault under POCSO Act

New Delhi : The Delhi High Court on Monday ruled that a simple act of touch cannot be considered as manipulation for the offence of penetrative sexual assault under Section 3(c) of the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act.

Justice Amit Bansal, while handling a plea from a man challenging his conviction and 10-year sentence for raping a six-year-old girl, noted that a simple act of touch could not be considered manipulation under Section 3(c) of the Act.

Section 3(c) of the POCSO Act defines penetrative sexual assault as manipulating any part of the child's body to cause penetration or making the child do so with another person.

The judge said that Section 7 of the POCSO Act already addresses the offence of "touch", and if a touch were considered manipulation, Section 7 would become redundant. In the case at hand, the man was convicted in 2020 for offences under Section 376 (rape) of the Indian Penal Code and Section 6 (aggravated penetrative sexual assault) of the POCSO Act.

Justice Bansal ruled that the offence under Section 6 of the POCSO Act was not proven beyond reasonable doubt but found the offence of aggravated sexual assault under Section 10 proved beyond reasonable doubt.

He modified the judgement, convicting the appellant under Section 10 of the POCSO Act, sentencing him to five years of rigorous imprisonment, and retaining the fine of Rs. 5,000 awarded by the trial court. The court noted inconsistencies in the statements of the minor victim at various points of time, saying that the quality of her testimony must be of a high standard to support a conviction.

There were no independent witnesses or medical evidence to corroborate the prosecution's case. In this case, there was no indication that any manipulation occurred on the victim's body to cause penetration, and as such, the conviction under Section 6 of the POCSO Act was not sustained.