Touching Child's Cheek Without Sexual Intent Not Offence: POCSO Court

Touching child's cheek without sexual intent, not offence: A special Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) court on Tuesday acquitted a 28-year-old man, ruling that touching a child’s cheeks without any sexual intent is not an offence.

The man is, however, convicted for molesting the five-year-old girl's mother. He is sentenced to one-year imprisonment. While acquitting him in the child's case, the court said, "It is for the prosecution to prove the guilt against the accused beyond a reasonable doubt. Even considering the testimony of the mother, as it is, still there is no such overt act on part of the accused which can be termed as sexual assault to the victim girl or amounting to outraging her modesty."

The incident took place on June 2, 2017. According to the 33-year-old mother, the accused, an electrician by profession, had gone to the residence to fix a broken refrigerator. The survivor was home with two minor daughters after her husband left for work. She further claimed that the accused then tried to come close to her and felt her daughter’s cheeks. She immediately reacted and told him not to touch her daughter. The woman also said later he molested her. Once her brother arrived, he called the police and the accused was taken into custody. He was subsequently granted bail. The child too was brought to court for her deposition when she was seven years old. 

Hearing the case, the court said, “Except this case, no other cases are reported against him. He is young, so he can be given an opportunity of curing himself by sentencing for the minimum punishment of one year...”. The court charged him a fine of Rs 10,000.

Feature Image Credit: The Indian Express