HC: Holding hand, unzipping before girl not sex assault

HC: Holding hand, unzipping before girl not sex assault

Order By Judge Who Ruled In Groping Case

Vaibhav.Ganjapure TNN

Nagpur:29.01.2021

The Nagpur bench of the Bombay high court on Thursday reversed the conviction of a 50-year-old man under Pocso Act for allegedly molesting a 5-year-old girl ruling that holding her hands and unzipping his pants in front of her “cannot be defined as sexual assault”. The order was given by Justice Pushpa Ganediwala, whose recent ruling that groping a girl’s breasts without removing her clothes was not sexual assault as there was no skinto-skin contact was stayed by the apex court following an uproar.

“The acts of ‘holding the hands of survivor’, or ‘opening zip of the pant’, in the opinion of this court, doesn’t fit in the definition of ‘sexual assault’,” said Justice Ganediwala, who was appointed district judge in 2007 and elevated as HC’s additional judge in February 2019. She was made permanent judge of HC by the Supreme Court collegium on January 21.

“Considering the nature of offence and sentence prescribed, the aforesaid acts aren’t sufficient for fixing criminal liability on accused for alleged offence of ‘aggravated sexual assault’. At most, the minor offence punishable under Section 354-A (1)(I) of IPC (outraging modesty) read with Section 12 of the POCSO Act is proved against the petitioner,” she added, before quashing charges under Sections 8 and 10 of POCSO Act slapped against Libnus Kujur from Gadchiroli and maintaining conviction under outraging of modesty.

On January 19, Ganediwala had held that groping a 12-yearold’s breasts without removing her clothes wasn’t a ‘sexual assault’ as there was no skin-to skin contact between them. This verdict triggered an uproar in the country with women rights’ organizations protesting. On Wednesday, a Supreme Court bench led by Chief Justice of India Sharad Bobde stayed the verdict after attorney general KK Venugopal made a request to the apex court, warning that it may have wider ramifications and set a dangerous precedent. In the latest case, Kujur had challenged the Special POCSO court verdict of October 5 last year, where he was awarded five years rigorous imprisonment (RI). The case against him was filed on the basis of a complaint lodged by the girl’s mother on February 12, 2018, accusing him of holding hands of her elder daughter, unzipping his pant in front of her and asking her to join him in bed, when both parents were away from home for work.

The case against him was filed on the basis of a complaint lodged by the girl’s mother on February 12, 2018, accusing him of holding hands of her elder daughter, unzipping his pant in front of her and asking her to join him in bed, when both parents were away from home for work