Prayagraj: While observing a case of sexual assault with a minor and simultaneously reducing the jail term from 10 to 7 years of an accused, the Allahabad High Court said that Oral sex with a minor does not come under ‘aggravated sexual assault’ under the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act.
The case pertains to a 10-year-old victim from Jhansi who was forced to perform oral sex by the accused. The lower court had convicted the accused under section 5/6 of the POCSO Act for causing 'aggravated sexual assault' while the high court said that the act only amounts to 'penetrative sexual assault' and therefore falls under section 4 of the POCSO act warranting only 7 years imprisonment.
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A lower court in Jhansi in 2018 had convicted the man under Section 6 of the POCSO Act and sections 377 and 507 of the IPC, and sentenced him to 10 years imprisonment.
Challenging the conviction by the lower court, the accused had pleaded before the Allahabad High Court that the offence under section 6 of the POCSO Act was not made out against him.
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