“Admittedly, it is not the case of the prosecution that the accused removed her top and pressed her breast. As such, there is no direct physical contact i.e. skin-to-skin with sexual intent without penetration,” Free Press Journal quoted Justice Ganediwala.
“The act of pressing the breast of a child aged 12 years, in the absence of any specific detail as to whether the top was removed or whether he inserted his hand inside her top and pressed her breast, would not fall under the definition of ‘sexual assault’,” the judge held, adding, “it would certainly fall within the definition of section 354 of the IPC, which penalizes outraging the modesty of a woman.”
“In the instant case, having regard to the nature of the alleged act by the accused and having regard to the circumstances, in the opinion of this court, the alleged act fits into the definition of the offense as defined in section 354 of IPC,” Justice Ganediwala held.