Bombay High Court while granting bail to a man accused of improperly touching a juvenile girl stated that touching the cheeks without sexual intent is not considered sexual assault under the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (Pocso) Act.
Justice Sandeep K Shinde of the Bombay High Court declared "In my opinion, caressing the cheeks without a sexual purpose would not attract the offense of 'sexual assault' as defined under Section 7 of the Pocso Act," while giving bail to an accused who had been detained since July 2020. The 46-year-old man was accused of touching an eight-year-old girl improperly. Her mother filed a police report with the Rabodi police station in Mumbai's Thane district. According to Section 7 of the POCSO Act, anyone touches or makes the kid touch the private parts of such person or any other person with sexual purpose, or performs any other act with sexual intent that involves physical contact without penetration, is guilty of sexual assault.
The accused's lawyer, Ramprasad Gupta, contended that this was a case of commercial competition. He stated that the case's investigation was completed and that a charge sheet had been submitted. However, Justice Shinde stressed that any observations made in the case should be interpreted as a statement of opinion for the only purpose of bail and should not be used to influence the trial in any future proceedings.
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