The Supreme Court on Tuesday held that the act of inserting a finger into the vagina of a minor girl would amount to an offence of 'penetrative sexual assault' under the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences Act (POCSO Act), reports Bar and Bench.
If the girl is under 12 years, then the offence would be of 'aggravated penetrative sexual assault', a Bench of Justices MR Shah and BV Nagarathna said. The court, therefore, upheld the conviction of a 75-year-old man who was accused of inserting his finger into the vagina of a 4-year-old. The court was hearing an appeal of an accused who was convicted for luring a four-year-old and inserting his finger into her vagina, till he was caught red-handed and arrested by the police.
The accused was 65 years old at the time of commission of the offence. The High Court dismissed the appeal by the accused and confirmed the conviction and sentence. This led to the present appeal before the Supreme Court. The appellant argued that inserting finger into the vagina could at best be a case of attempt to commit aggravated sexual assault. He also prayed for a reduction in the sentence since he was suffering from tuberculosis and was of advanced age. The court, relying on the testimony of independent witness Dr Vandana Sundriyal, concluded that the accused had lured the girl away from her house, took her into the bushes, disrobed her and removed his clothes as well, and inserted his finger into the girl's vagina. He was about to force himself upon her and commit the offence of rape when he was caught red-handed, the court noted.
