On Saturday, November 20, the Allahabad High Court reduced the penalty given by the Special Sessions Court on one Sonu Kushwaha, a convict, who was found guilty of conducting oral sex with a 10-year-old minor child.
The matter in-depth
Sonu Kushwaha, the appellant, was accused of going to the complainant’s house and abducting the complainant’s 10-year-old child.
He was asked to put his penis in his mouth in exchange for Rs 20. When the child arrived home, his family wanted to know how he got the money.
That child recounted the event after being pressured. Sonu Kushwaha allegedly threatened him with terrible consequences if he revealed the truth. The minor’s parents went on to submit a complaint against Sonu Kushwaha.
Putting a penis inside a child’s mouth, according to the Allahabad High Court, is punishable as ‘penetrative sexual assault’ under Section 4 of the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences Act (POCSO Act), rather than ‘aggravated penetrative sexual assault’ or ‘aggravated sexual assault’ under Sections 6 and 10 of the POCSO Act, respectively.
Sonu Kushwaha’s appeal against a Special Sessions Court judgement convicting him under the Indian Penal Code’s Sections 377 (unnatural offences) and 506 (penalty for criminal intimidation), as well as Section 6 of the POCSO Act, was heard by Justice Anil Kumar Ojha.
The court was debating whether inserting the penis into the victim’s mouth and discharging semen within would be covered under Sections 5/6 or 9/10 of the POCSO Act. According to the ruling, it does not come under any of the two sections, but it is punishable under section 4 of the POCSO Act, which is titled “Punishment for Penetrative Sexual Assault.”
The charges put forth
As ‘penetrative sexual assault’ under Section 4 is a “lesser offence” than ‘aggravated penetrative sexual assault’ under Section 6, the Court lowered the appellant’s sentence from 10 years to 7 years in jail and a fine of Rs 5,000.
