The Supreme Court on Wednesday stayed the controversial order of the Allahabad High Court, which had ruled that grabbing the breasts of a minor girl, breaking the string of her pyjama, and attempting to drag her beneath a culvert would not constitute an attempt to rape. Instead, the High Court had argued that these actions would likely fall under 'aggravated sexual assault' as per the POCSO Act, which carries a lesser punishment.

Supreme Court bench, comprising Justice B.R. Gavai and Justice AG Masih, expressed strong disapproval of the High Court’s judgment. The bench described the High Court’s observations as “shocking,” stating that they displayed a total lack of sensitivity toward the severity of the crime. "We are at pains to say that some of the observations made in the impugned order depict a total lack of sensitivity on the part of the author of the judgment," the bench remarked.

The apex court took suo motu cognizance of the case following widespread public outrage over the High Court’s order. The bench further observed that the High Court's decision had not been an immediate one, as it had been reserved for nearly four months, suggesting the verdict had been given after careful deliberation. Despite this, the Supreme Court stated that the observations were 'totally unknown to the tenets of law' and 'depict a total insensitivity and inhuman approach', prompting it to stay the implementation of the order.

The matter came to light after a letter sent by Senior Advocate Shobha Gupta, a founder of the NGO 'We the Women of India,' brought attention to the High Court’s controversial ruling.

The case involves accusations against two men, Pawan and Akash, who allegedly assaulted an 11-year-old girl. According to the prosecution, the accused grabbed the girl’s breasts, and one of them, Akash, broke the string of her pyjama and attempted to drag her under a culvert. The trial court had previously invoked Sections 376 and 18 of the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act, 2012, treating the incident as an attempt to rape or an attempt to commit penetrative sexual assault.