Bombay HC grants bail to man accused of child abuse, says cheek-touching without sexual intent isn't assault

An 8-year-old girl was allegedly lured into a meat shop and subjected to inappropriate physical contact and exposure by an adult male.

In the shadow of a child's vulnerability, a court in Mumbai drew a fine and contested line between physical contact and criminal intent. The Bombay High Court, weighing the letter of the law against the gravity of the alleged act, granted bail to a man accused of luring an eight-year-old girl into a shop in Thane — finding that the touching of her cheek, absent demonstrable sexual intent, did not meet the legal threshold for assault under the POCSO Act. The ruling, narrow in its stated scope, nonetheless opened a wider question about how the law measures harm to children when intent cannot be

Bombay HC grants bail to man accused of child abuse, says cheek-touching without sexual intent isn't assault

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