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The Calcutta High Court on Friday suspended the conviction and sentencing of an accused under the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act. The court observed that an attempt to grope a victim’s breasts can only amount to “aggravated sexual assault,” not “attempt to rape” under the Act.
Earlier, a West Bengal trial court had found the accused guilty of both aggravated sexual assault and attempt to rape. The court had sentenced him to 12 years of rigorous imprisonment.
However, while hearing the appeal, a division bench of Justice Arijit Banerjee and Justice Biswaroop Chowdhury pointed out that the medical report of the victim did not show any penetration or attempt of penetration. According to the victim’s statement, the accused, who was under the influence of alcohol, tried to grope her breasts.
The High Court stressed that this evidence could support a charge under Section 10 of the POCSO Act for aggravated sexual assault, but not for attempted rape.
“If after final hearing the charge is reduced only to aggravated sexual assault, the sentence would drop to between five and seven years instead of 12 years,” the bench noted. Currently, the accused has already spent 28 months in prison.
The court suspended the operation of the conviction and sentence until the appeal is completely heard or until further orders. It also stayed the payment of the fine until the appeal’s outcome.
At the same time, the division bench made it clear that their observations should not affect the final decision of the appeal hearing.
This case has raised important discussions on how courts differentiate between sexual assault and attempted rape under the POCSO Act, and the importance of evidence in framing appropriate charges.
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