A pat is not a sex crime: Delhi Court

New Delhi: A Delhi court, while transferring a case of sexual harassment lodged against a man by a minor girl, observed that a simple blow (pat) on a child’s back does not amount to sexual harassment under the POCSO Act as there must be a sexual intent behind the act.

It said that an offence under The Protection of Children from Sexual Offences Act, 2012 is made out when harassment is done with a sexual intent.

“Simply giving a blow on the back of the victim does not amount to sexual harassment as defined under the POCSO Act, according to which sexual harassment must be done with a sexual intent. Then and only then would the offence become punishable under the POCSO Act. The Section 11 of the Act says that any question involving sexual intent shall be a question of fact,” additional sessions judge A.K. Sarpal said.

The court’s observation came in a case in which a minor girl, a student of Class 10, had accused a man of sexually harassing her by spitting on her and misbehaving with her after giving a blow on her back with his hand.

The girl had alleged that the incident took place when she and her sister were going to school on a scooter in July 2015.

She claimed that the accused came forward and threw garbage on the road and obstructed their way. He then hit her with the garbage bucket and when she objected, he abused her, the girl alleged in her complaint.

The designated POCSO Act court actually transferred the matter to the court of chief metropolitan magistrate in order to to decide whether any other offence could be made out against the man in question.

The court, however, said that it was an “incident of simple quarrel which cannot be made a sexual harassment case by any stretch of imagination”. The court further noted that according to the charge sheet, the victim and her family members have introduced 14 similar kinds of crime cases against the accused and other neighbours. Even the girl’s parents were facing four cases against them.

“In my opinion, simple vague and unspecific allegations made against the accused that he had misbehaved with the victim while giving a blow on her back, is not sufficient to invoke the provisions of POCSO Act against him,” the judge said.

“The prosecution has to show that at the time of the alleged quarrel, the accused has committed the offence of sexual harassment and that too a specific sexual intent,” the judge added.