The Supreme Court (SC) on Wednesday stayed the acquittal order of the accused in the case where the Bombay High Court had said groping a minor’s breast without “skin to skin contact” can’t be termed as sexual assault as defined under Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act, ANI reported.

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The SC bench headed by Chief Justice of India  SA Bobde has also issued a notice to the accused in the case, seeking his response in two weeks.

In a verdict that sparked outrage, Justice Pushpa Ganediwala of the Nagpur bench of the Bombay High Court passed an order on January 19 in which she said there must be “skin to skin contact with sexual intent” for an act to be considered sexual assault under the POCSO Act, PTI reported.

She said in her verdict that mere groping will not fall under the definition of sexual assault.

Justice Ganediwala modified the order of a sessions court, which had sentenced a 39-year-old man to three years of imprisonment for sexually assaulting a 12-year-old girl.

According to the prosecution and the victim’s testimony in court, in December 2016, the accused had taken the victim to his house in Nagpur on the pretext of giving her something to eat. Once in his house, he gripped her breast and attempted to remove her clothes, Justice Ganediwala had recorded in her verdict, according to a PTI report.

The Court held that since he groped her without removing her clothes, the offence cannot be termed as sexual assault under POCSO Act, but constitutes the offence of outraging a woman’s modesty under IPC section 354.

An offence under IPC section 354 carries a minimum prison term of one year, while sexual assault under POCSO Act entails minimum imprisonment of three years.

The sessions court had sentenced him to three years in prison under the POCSO Act and under section 354 of the IPC. Both were to run concurrently.

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However, the HC had acquitted him under the POCSO Act and had upheld his conviction under IPC section 354.