Forcing child to touch private parts amounts to aggravated sexual assault under POCSO: Delhi HC

New Delhi: The Delhi High Court has held that making a minor child touch private parts with sexual intent amounts to aggravated sexual assault under the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act.

Justice Neena Bansal Krishna delivered the verdict while dismissing an appeal filed by a man convicted under Section 10 of the POCSO Act for flashing his private parts before a girl aged around four years and making her touch them. Under the law, sexual assault against a child below 12 years of age qualifies as aggravated sexual assault.

The appellant, who was a tenant in the child’s house, was convicted by a trial court in July 2024 and sentenced to seven years of rigorous imprisonment. The incident occurred in June 2022, when the survivor was three years and 11 months old.

In its judgment dated January 5, the High Court ruled that the offence under Section 10 of the POCSO Act stood clearly established. The court stated that compelling a small child to touch private parts with sexual intent met the statutory definition of aggravated sexual assault.

Rejecting the accused’s claims of tutoring and lack of evidence, the court observed that the survivor’s testimony remained consistent on the core allegation of sexual assault, and minor variations in her statements did not affect her credibility. It also held that counselling by a Delhi Commission for Women counsellor, as mandated by law, could not be construed as tutoring and was necessary to help the child cope with trauma.

The court further noted that the accused’s presence during the narration of the incident to the child’s mother, and the fact that he reached the police station even before the complainant’s family, strengthened the prosecution case.

On the issue of delay in registering the FIR, the court held that the delay was sufficiently explained and could not be considered fatal. It observed that it was natural for the child’s mother to wait for her husband’s return from another city before approaching the police.

The High Court also agreed with the trial court’s observation that cases of child sexual abuse often go unreported due to social stigma, shame and concerns over family honour, particularly when the accused is a known person. It highlighted that abuse is frequently normalised in society, with families often speaking up only when the act is perceived as serious or violent.

However, the court set aside the conviction and sentence of the appellant for certain Indian Penal Code offences, including sexual harassment, as no formal charges had been framed for those offences.

The appeal was dismissed, and the conviction under the POCSO Act was upheld.