Skip to content
Search

Latest Stories

India's top court quashes 'skin-to-skin sexual assault' order

India's top court quashes 'skin-to-skin sexual assault' order

INDIA's supreme court on Thursday (18) quashed a controversial order given by the Bombay high court in Mumbai in January that cleared a man of charges of sexually assaulting a 12-year-old girl because “there was no skin-to-skin contact” between them.

The order was passed by a woman judge named Pushpa Ganediwala and it caused massive outrage across India. Activists and legal experts, free porn party including attorney general of India K K Venugopal, said the high court’s order would set a “dangerous precedent” and asked the apex court to scrap it. Campaigners said that such an order would also discourage children from reporting abuse.


A bench of the top court headed by Justice U U Lalit said while setting aside the high court’s verdict that the act of touching the sexual part of the body or any other act involving physical contact if done with sexual intent should be considered sexual assault within the meaning of section seven of the POCSO (protection of children from sexual offences ) act.

The top court bench said the courts must look at the sexual intent and not whether there was a skin-to-skin contact.

“Restricting it to skin-to-skin would not only be a narrow and pedantic interpretation but will also lead to absurd interpretation of the provision,” Indian legal website LiveLaw reported.

The top court also said the Bombay high court’s order had “insensitively legitimised sexual behaviour” and that “the purpose of law cannot be to allow the offender to sneak out of the provisions of the law”.

The bench, which also comprised Justices S Ravindra Bhat and Bela M Trivedi, said that when the legislature has made its intention clear, the courts cannot manufacture ambiguity in the provision.

“It is right that courts cannot be overzealous in searching ambiguity,” it said. Justice Bhat also delivered a separate concurring judgment, PTI reported.

The high court gave its verdict in the case which involves a 39-year-old man who was accused of groping a 12-year-old girl. The minor’s mother alleged that the man lured her daughter to his house where he pressed her breast and tried to remove the bottom part of her dress.

A trial court convicted the man of sexually assaulting the child under the stringent POCSO Act and gave him a jail term of three years.

But on January 12, Justice Genediwala ruled that pressing the girl’s breast without removing her dress was not sexual assault since there was no skin-to-skin contact and the act would only invite a lesser charge of molestation.

Several petitions were filed in the supreme court to overturn the order. A fortnight after the high court gave its order, the supreme court put the order on hold till it decided the matter.

After Thursday’s order, the accused man will have to serve the jail term which was handed to him by the trial court.

The National Commission for Women in India welcomed the order and expressed hope that it will uphold legal safeguards for women and children.

According to a 2007 study by the Indian government, two out of every three children in India were physically abused and that 53 per cent of the nearly 12,300 children surveyed reported one or more forms of sexual abuse, BBC reported.

Last year, India’s national crime records bureau registered 43,000 offences under the POCSO Act, an average of one case every 12 minutes. Campaigners, however, say that the actual numbers are much higher since many cases of abuse, where the offenders are known to the victims, do not get reported.

More For You

Minouche Shafik

Shafik served as deputy governor for markets and banking at the Bank of England between August 2014 and February 2017.

Reuters

Starmer appoints Minouche Shafik as chief economic adviser in reshuffle

Highlights:

  • Minouche Shafik named chief economic adviser to Keir Starmer.
  • Darren Jones moves into Downing Street role; James Murray replaces him.
  • Wider reshuffle includes changes in Starmer’s private office and communications.
  • Appointment comes ahead of a budget expected to include further tax rises.

Prime minister Keir Starmer has named Minouche Shafik, a former deputy governor of the Bank of England, as his chief economic adviser. The appointment comes as he looks to strengthen his team ahead of what is expected to be a difficult end to the year.

Keep ReadingShow less
modi putin

Before their formal meeting, Putin offered Modi a ride in his Aurus limousine.

X/@narendramodi

Six key takeaways from the SCO summit

INDIAN prime minister Narendra Modi met Russian president Vladimir Putin and Chinese president Xi Jinping on the sidelines of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) summit in Tianjin, China.

Modi pressed for ending the Ukraine conflict at the earliest, reaffirmed India’s long-standing ties with Russia, and discussed trade and border issues with Xi.

Keep ReadingShow less
Afghanistan earthquake

Afghan volunteers and Taliban security personnel carry an earthquake victim evacuated by a military helicopter from the Nurgal district of Kunar province onn September 1, 2025.

Getty Images

Afghanistan earthquake kills more than 800, thousands injured

A MAJOR rescue operation was underway in Afghanistan on Monday after a powerful earthquake and several aftershocks destroyed homes in a remote mountainous region, killing more than 800 people, according to Taliban authorities.

The quake struck just before midnight and was felt as far as Kabul and in Pakistan’s capital, Islamabad.

Keep ReadingShow less
Ganpati festival

The Ganpati festival celebrates Ganesha as the god of new beginnings, and the god of wisdom and intelligence. (Photo: Getty Images)

Getty Images

Hindu community centre in London damaged in fire after Ganapati Visarjan event

A HINDU community centre in east London caught fire on Saturday evening, causing major damage to the building. The London Fire Brigade brought the fire under control and confirmed that no injuries were reported.

The incident took place at the Shree Sorathia Prajapati Community Centre on Cleveland Road in Ilford, which had been decorated for a Ganapati Visarjan event attended by members of the Hindu community.

Keep ReadingShow less
Modi ,Xi & Putin

Narendra Modi talks with Vladimir Putin and Xi jinping ahead of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) Summit 2025 at the Meijiang Convention and Exhibition Centre in Tianjin on September 1, 2025.

Getty Images

SCO declaration slams Pahalgam attack, calls for united action on terror

Highlights:

  • SCO condemns terror attack in Pahalgam and echoes India’s stance on “double standards”.
  • Leaders call for justice for perpetrators of attacks in Pahalgam and Balochistan.
  • Declaration criticises Israeli military strikes in Gaza causing civilian casualties.
  • SCO stresses UN’s central role in global counter-terrorism strategy.

THE SHANGHAI Cooperation Organisation (SCO) on Monday condemned the terror attack in Pahalgam and agreed with India’s position that “double standards” in tackling terrorism are not acceptable.

Keep ReadingShow less