In a Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) case involving the alleged rape of a young girl, the Allahabad High Court determined that squeezing the victim’s breasts and snapping the strings of her pajamas did not amount to rape or an attempt at rape, but rather to a serious sexual assault.
The news agency said that the accused, who have been named as Pawan and Akash, tried to drag the victim (11), breaking the string of her pajamas as they did so, by grabbing her breasts. A bystander then rescued the accused, who then ran away from the scene. The event occurred in Kasganj, Uttar Pradesh, and the Patiyali police station has been notified of the case.
Section 376 of the Indian Penal Code (IPC) and Section 18 of the POCSO Act were the original grounds for the trial of petitioners Akash, Pawan, and Ashok. In addition to the minor allegation of assault or use of criminal force with intent to disrobe under Section 354-B IPC, the court has now ordered that the accused be tried under Section 9/10 (severe sexual assault) of the POCSO Act.
Additionally, according to the news agency, the summons decision of the Special Judge POCSO Court of Kasganj has been changed by a single bench of Justice Ram Manohar Narayan Mishra. The court ruled that the summons issued on the rape charge was unlawful and ordered a new one.
Ashok, Pawan’s father and the third petitioner, has been called upon under Sections 504 and 506 of the IPC, according to the news agency. When the woman confronted him following the incident, he allegedly intimidated and mistreated her. Section 504 of the IPC addresses “intentional insult with intent to provoke breach of the peace’ and section 506 of the IPC deals with “criminal intimidation of the IPC.
Talking to the news agency, Advocate Vikas Pahwa said, “This gives a bad signal to the entire criminal justice society where we feel that if somebody commits an offense, he will be punished. The Courts have to be a bit cautious of laying down the law. When we talk about High Courts and the Supreme Court, we talk about laying down the law…We have to be a bit careful dealing with such sensitive issues.”
Furthermore, Rajya Sabha MP and former chief of NCW, Rekha Sharma, also talking to news agency, weighed in on the matter and said, “If the judges are not sensitized, then what will the women and children do? They should see the intention behind an act. NCW should go to the Supreme Court against this. Judges should be told that they can’t make such judgments. This is totally wrong, and I am against it.”
