Attorney General for India v. Satish
Supreme Court of India2021 INSC 762; MANU/SC/1086/2021; (2022) 5 SCC 545Bench: CJI N.V. Ramana, J. A.S. Bopanna, J. Hima Kohli
The Supreme Court unanimously overruled the Bombay HC judgment. The Court applied the mischief rule of statutory interpretation and held: (1) Section 7 POCSO does not require skin-to-skin contact — touching a child's body part through clothing fully satisfies the definition of "touch or physical contact". (2) "Sexual intent" of the accused is the crucial test, not the medium through which contact is made. (3) The literal interpretation adopted by the HC would lead to an absurd result — an accused could escape liability simply by wearing gloves or touching the child through layers of clothing. (4) The POCSO Act was enacted to protect children from sexual abuse in all its forms; a restrictive interpretation would defeat the very object of the legislation. The conviction under Section 8 POCSO was restored and the accused's sentence was enhanced.