Pressing Minor Girl’s Breast Through Bus Window Amounts to Sexual Assault: Orissa High Court Upholds POCSO Conviction
Court upholds conviction and 3-year sentence; reiterates that sexual intent, not skin-to-skin contact is the key ingredient of the offence
The Orissa High Court has upheld the conviction of a man for sexually assaulting a minor girl by reaching through the window of a bus and pressing her breast, holding that such conduct clearly demonstrates sexual intent and falls within the ambit of “sexual assault” under the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act, 2012.
While upholding the conviction and sentence, the Bench rejected the defence argument that absence of skin-to-skin contact would negate the offence. The Court relied on the Supreme Court’s judgment in Attorney General for India v. Satish & Anr. (2021) INSC 762, reiterating that the decisive factor for the offence is “sexual intent” and not the “skin to skin” contact with the child.
Dr. Justice Sanjeeb K Panigrahi observed, “In the case in hand, the victim was minor aged 17 years, 5 months and 8 days, on the date of alleged occurrence of the incident. the evidence on record discloses that when the bus in which she was travelling came to a halt near the UCO Bank, the accused approached from outside and through, the window on the right-side where the victim was seated, inserted his hand and squeezed and pulled her breast. Such an act, by its very nature, is inherently an indecent and constitutes a direct invasion of the bodily integrity of a young girl. The manner in which the accused deliberately reached through the bus window and committed the act clearly demonstrates the requisites intention to outrage her modesty”.
Upon noting the submission that the independent witnesses in the matter did not narrate the incident in its entirety, however, had consistently supported the immediate reaction and commotion raised by the victim, the Bench observed, “It is a matter of common experience in contemporary society that independent witnesses are often reluctant to come forward to depose in support of an incident which has taken place in their presence. On many such instances, such witnesses resile from their earlier statements and declare hostile, which trigger some lacunae in the prosecution case. However, such eventuality by itself does not render the prosecution version unworthy of acceptance, nor does it absolve the Court of its duty to shift the evidence and arrive at the truth so as to meet the ends of justice”.
Advocate Soumyajit Biswoprakash appeared for the appellant and Tej Kumar, ASC appeared for the respondent.
According to the prosecution, the incident occurred on 26-08-2021, when the minor victim was travelling with her family members in a bus. When the vehicle halted near a bank junction, the accused allegedly approached from outside and inserted his hand through the window where the girl was seated, squeezing her breast. The victim immediately raised an alarm, prompting her father to get down from the bus and attempt to apprehend the accused.
The High Court noted that documentary evidence such as school records established that the girl was 17 years 5 months and 8 days of age at the time of the incident, thereby attracting the provisions of the POCSO Act.
While analysing the offence under Section 7 of the POCSO Act, the Court observed that the provision covers any act involving physical contact with sexual intent without penetration. It held that pressing the breast of a minor clearly satisfies the ingredients of sexual assault under the statute.
Accordingly, the Bench dismissed the criminal appeal challenging the judgment of a Special POCSO Court in Phulbani which had convicted him under Section 8 of the POCSO Act and Section 354 IPC, sentencing him to three years of rigorous imprisonment along with a fine.
Cause Title: Abinash Digal @ Papun Digal v. State of Odisha CRLA No.1051 of 2024
Appearances:
Appellant: Soumyajit Biswoprakash, G.R. Dhal, Advocates.
Respondent: Tej Kumar, ASC, Barsharani Sahoo, Advocates.