SC stays Bombay HC order which ruled groping minor without ‘skin-to-skin’ contact is not sexual assault

The Supreme Court on Wednesday stayed a Bombay High Court judgment that said groping without "skin-to-skin" contact is not sexual assault as defined under the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act.

A bench of Chief Justice S A Bobde and Justices A S Bopanna and V Ramasubramanian also issued notice to Maharashtra government and permitted Attorney General K K Venugopal to file an appeal against the Bombay High Court order.

Justice Pushpa Ganediwala of the Nagpur bench of the Bombay High Court, in a judgment passed on January 19, held that there must be "skin-to-skin contact with sexual intent" for an act to be considered sexual assault. In her verdict, the judge said mere groping a minor’s breasts will not fall under the definition of sexual assault.