NEW DELHI: A simple act of touch cannot be considered as manipulation for the offence of penetrative sexual assault under Section 3(c) of the POCSO Act, the Delhi High Court has said.
Section 3(c) of the POCSO Act states that a person is said to commit “penetrative sexual assault” if he manipulates any part of the child’s body so as to cause penetration into the vagina, urethra, anus or any other body part or makes the child to do so with him or any other person.
There is nothing in the present case to show that there was any manipulation on any part of the body of the victim so as to cause penetration, the court said.
The observation came while Justice Amit Bansal was dealing with an appeal of an accused convicted for raping a minor girl under Section 376, Section 6 of the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences Act (POCSO) and sentenced to rigorous imprisonment for a period of ten years.
The court was of the view that the offence under Section 6 of the POCSO Act has not been proved against the appellant eyond all reasonable doubt. But the offence under Section 10 of the POCSO Act is proved beyond all reasonable doubt against the appellant.
“Merely because there have been inconsistencies in the statement of the child victim, it cannot be said that her testimony is completely unreliable and should be disregarded in its entirety,” the HC said
“It is to be noted that the child victim has consistently stated in her testimony as well as various previous statements that she was touched in the anal region by the appellant and the touch caused her pain,” the HC said.
Accordingly, the high court allowed the appeal partially and the earlier judgment of the high court modified to the extent that instead of Section 6 of the POCSO Act, the appellant stands convicted under Section 10 of the POCSO Act.