Bombay High Court on 27 August said that touching the cheeks of a child without sexual intent would not attract the offence of sexual assault.
A single bench of Justice Sandeep Shinde while hearing a bail plea of one 46-year-old Mohammad Ahmed Ulla who was accused of sexually assaulting an 8-year-old minor girl, said that touching the cheeks without sexual intent would not attract the offence of ‘sexual assault’, as defined under Section 7 of the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences Act.
“Primary evaluation of the material on record does not suggest that the applicant allegedly touched the cheeks of the victim with a sexual intent,” the HC said.
The Justice however clarified that the observations should be construed as the opinion only for bail in this matter and shall not be in any way influence the trials in other matters.
Mohammad Ahmed Ulla, a meet shop keeper has allegedly sexually abused an eight-year-old girl inside his meet shop. According to the prosecution, Ulla called her inside his meet shop and touched her seek, opened his shirt, and was about to open his pant. An FIR was lodged against him and he was booked under different sections of the IPC and POCSO Act in July 2020.
