Guwahati: The Supreme Court on Thursday set aside the Bombay High Court judgement which held skin-to-skin contact was necessary for invoking charges under the POSCO Act.
Pointing out that the objective of POSCO is to protect children from sexual abuse, the court said that physical contact made with sexual intent comes under POSCO, and skin-to-skin contact is nor the criteria.
The 3-judge bench of SA Bobde, CJ and AS Bopanna and V Ramasubramanian, JJ has stayed the controversial Bombay High Court judgement.
The bench said: “We have held that when the legislature has expressed clear intention, the courts cannot create ambiguity in the provision.” It further added that it is right that courts cannot be overzealous in creating ambiguity.
The top court said that the act of touching any sexual part of a child with sexual intent cannot be taken away from the purview of section 7 of the POSCO Act.
Supreme Court has also directed the accused to undergo rigorous imprisonment for three years.
On September 30, the Supreme Court had reserved its judgment on appeals challenging the Bombay High Court verdict, acquitting a person under the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act, after he pressed a girl’s breast over her dress, on the grounds that there was no skin-to-skin contact.
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