Indian court rules that groping without removing clothes is not sexual assault

Bombay High Court, Mumbai

    Ok. Just to be honest, reading the headline itself made me wonder if these people have a thing called 'sense'.

    A court in India had ruled that groping a child through their clothes is NOT equivalent to sexual assault and this verdict drew an outrage across the country and campaigners who were thriving to widespread sexual abuse against women and children.

    Last week, Bombay High Court judge Pushpa Ganediwala, found a 39 year old man NOT guilty for sexually assaulting a 12 year old girl just because he did not remove her cloths and there was no skin to skin contact. The court said ' the act of pressing of breast of a 12 year old child, in the absence of any specific detail as to whether the top was removed or whether he inserted his hand inside the top and pressed her breast, is not sexual assault'.  

    During the trial, the girl accused the man who goes by the name of Satish, of bringing her to his house with an excuse of giving her a guava. He then touched her chest and tried to remove her clothes. He was then found guilty and sentenced to 3 years in prison in a lower court but, then appealed to the High Court.

    On January 19,  Justice Ganediwala found that this act doesn't fall into the category of sexual assault. 'Considering the strict nature of the punishment for this offence, in the opinion of this court, stricter proof and serious allegations are required', said Justice Ganediwala. Bombay High Court overturned the verdict and gave Satish  a less serious charge of outraging a woman's modesty and sentenced him to a jail for a year along with a 500 Indian Rupee. 

    India's Protection of Children from Sexual Offences Act 2012 does not clearly state that skin on skin contact is needed to constitute the crime of sexual assault. 

    What I read and wrote here, is clearly nonsense. Where is the world heading today? What happened to justice? What happened to the court that was supposed to stand for the truth? Sexually assault, in my opinion, does not have to be a skin to skin contact only. If someone toucher you without consent, grabs your clothes, molest you with you clothes on or even look at you in a lustful way....that my friend is an ASSAULT !!!!

    If this keeps happening, those rapist and itchy creeps out there would definitely take advantage of it. They'll be like 'as long we don't touch the skin, we're safe' or 'we can still do what we what even without touching the skin'. What the heck man? 

    And the best part, the judge here was a woman. I know you have to be fair but think for a little. People these days rape with their eyes. As a judge, you are a woman yourself. If someone touches you in a wrongly matter, would you still say 'itz nothing. Not an assault' or if it happens to your closest kin, would you say the same thing? What were you thinking? 

    And in India's Protection of Children from Sexual Offences Act 2012, Section 7 states: Whoever, with sexual intent touches the vagina, penis, anus or breast of the child or makes the child touch the vagina, penis, anus or breast of such person or any other person, or does any other act with sexual intent which involves physical contact without penetration is said to commit sexual assault. Touch is a touch. Whether you have your clothes on or whether its on the skin, TOUCH IS A TOUCH! 

    My opinion is clearly based on the news I've read and what was stated there. This kind of judgement is a shame and does not protect the rights of women and children. Instead, it would encourage more of such incident to occur. I hope that there would be a change of verdict and victims of such incident will get their justice. 

Link to India Code: 
https://www.indiacode.nic.in/show-data?actid=AC_CEN_13_14_00005_201232_1517807323686&orderno=7