Oral sex with a minor is a lesser offence than sexual assault, said the Allahabad High Court, as it reduced the jail term of the convict in the case.
Issuing a controversial decision which is sparked a wave of criticism, the Allahabad High Court has said that having oral sex with a minor is a “lesser offence”, and has lowered the penalty imposed by the Special Sessions Court on one Sonu Kushwaha, who was found guilty of the act.
The hearing of Allahabad High Court was being conducted regarding a case registered against Sonu Kushwaha, who was found guilty of having oral sex with a 10-year-old minor child in lieu of Rs 20. The single-judge bench of Justice Anil Kumar Ojha reduced the convict’s punishment from 10 years to 7 years.
Justice Anil Kumar Ojha was hearing an appeal filed by Sonu Kushwaha against a Special Sessions Court verdict convicting him under the Indian Penal Code's Sections 377 (unnatural offences) and 506 (punishment for criminal intimidation), as well as Section 6 of the POCSO Act.
During the hearing, the Justice Ojha-led bench said, “It is clear that offence committed by appellant neither falls under Section 5/6 of POCSO Act nor under Section 9(M) of POCSO Act because there is penetrative sexual assault in the present case as the appellant has put his penis into the mouth of the victim. Putting a penis into the mouth does not fall in the category of aggravated sexual assault or sexual assault. It comes into the category of penetrative sexual assault which is punishable under Section 4 of POCSO Act.”
Following the judgment, the Allahabad High Court decided to reduce the sentence of the appellant from 10 years of rigorous imprisonment to 7 years, and a fine of Rs 5,000. This decision was taken observing that 'penetrative sexual assault' under Section 4 is a "lesser offence" than 'aggravated penetrative sexual assault' under Section 6.
Sonu Kushwaha, the guilty in the case, has gone to the house of the complainant and taken their 10-year-old child with him. He then urged the child the perform oral sex on him in exchange for Rs 20. The child went home and narrated the ordeal to his parents, after which they filed a complaint against the guilty.
(With IANS inputs)
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 "Allahabad High Court calls oral sex with minor ‘lesser offence’, reduces jail term of convict")
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