The Supreme Court has quashed a controversial order of the Mumbai High Court that touching the outside of a garment is not a sexual offense.The Supreme Court has quashed an order of the Mumbai High Court upholding Section 7 of the Pokmon Act, which protects children from sexual abuse. The High Court ruled that touching the top of a child's clothing was not a crime.
A bench comprising Justice UU Lalith, Justice S Ravindra Bhatt and Justice Bela M Trivedi quashed the order. Justice Bela M Trivedi, who read the verdict, said that even touching the top of a garment for sexual purposes is subject to pox law. The apex court passed the order on a petition filed by the Attorney General, the National Commission for Women and the Maharashtra state government against the Mumbai High Court verdict. Earlier this year, Mumbai High Court Nagpur bench judge Justice Pushpa Ganediwala issued the controversial order.
The report of Siddhartha Dave, an amicus curiae previously appointed by a bench of Chief Justice SA Bobde, was also crucial in the order. ' The case is based on the removal of the salwar by a 39-year-old 12-year-old boy. Attorney General KK Venugopal, who appeared for the central government, said there were 43,000 cases of violence against children last year.
