The Karnataka High Court on Monday dismissed a petition filed by a 52-year-old woman seeking to quash sexual assault charges under the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act. The case, filed by the parents of a 13-year-old boy, alleged that the woman sexually abused him in 2020 when their families lived in the same residential community in Bengaluru.
Justice M. Nagaprasanna, while refusing to halt the proceedings, ruled that the provisions of the POCSO Act are gender-neutral and apply equally to men and women. “The POCSO Act, being a progressive enactment, is intended to safeguard the sanctity of childhood. It is rooted in gender neutrality, with its beneficent object being the protection of children, irrespective of sex,” the court observed.
The judge clarified that while Sections 3 and 5 of the Act use gendered pronouns, the law’s preamble and purpose make it inclusive, and that offences of penetrative sexual assault under Sections 4 and 6 can be alleged against women as well. The court held that prima facie evidence in the case was sufficient to proceed to trial.
According to the complaint, the boy disclosed the abuse years later, after his family moved to Dubai, leading to a police investigation and chargesheet in 2024. Counsel for the accused woman, senior advocate Hasmath Pasha, argued that the POCSO provisions could not apply to women since rape, by definition, is committed by men. However, the victim’s counsel, advocate G.V. Ashok, countered that empirical data shows sexual abuse against boys is more prevalent than reported, with many cases going unacknowledged.
The court also cited data showing that 54.4% of children reporting sexual assault are boys, compared to 45.6% girls, underlining that sexual violence is not confined to one gender. “The jurisprudence of the present times embraces the lived realities of victims and does not allow stereotypes to cloud legal scrutiny,” Justice Nagaprasanna said.
With “sufficient material” found in the victim’s statement and the chargesheet, the High Court directed the accused woman to face trial.
(This story is published from a syndicated feed)