Law punishing child sexual abuse gender neutral: Karnataka HC

Bengaluru: The Karnataka High Court has refused to quash criminal proceedings against a 54-year-old Bengaluru woman accused of sexually abusing a 13-year-old boy.

Justice M Nagaprasanna said the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (Pocso) Act is gender neutral.

The complainant, mother of the victim, along with her husband and two children, had moved into a community villa in Bengaluru in 2020. The accused, a reputed artist who conducted art lessons for children in the community, was their neighbour. The complainant’s family shifted to Dubai in August 2020. After four years, they returned to India, and the mother filed a complaint.

The complaint stated that during their stay in Bengaluru, the accused sexually abused the victim between February and June 2020. It said the victim had become inactive in Dubai and showed psychological changes. When questioned, he confessed that the accused would repeatedly call him to her house and abuse him, warning him not to reveal anything.

The police filed a chargesheet under sections 4 and 6 of the Pocso Act.

Challenging the proceedings before a fast-track court, the accused argued that the complaint lacked credibility as it was delayed. She said the allegations were improbable given the age gap, she being 48 at the time and the boy aged 13 years and 10 months.

She contended that sections 4 & 6 could not apply to a woman, claiming a woman cannot rape a man. The complainant countered that the definition of ‘a person’ under the Pocso Act includes women, and cited data showing 53 per cent of sexual abuse victims are minor boys.

Justice Nagaprasanna said delays in filing an FIR in cases of child sexual assault cannot be equated with other offences. The court held that the Pocso Act, as a progressive enactment, is meant to safeguard the sanctity of childhood.

“It is rooted in gender neutrality with its beneficent object being the protection of all children, irrespective of sex. The Act is thus gender neutral. Sections 3 and 5, which form the foundation for offences under Sections 4 and 6, delineate various forms of assault. Although some provisions may employ gendered pronouns, the preamble and purpose render such usage inclusive. Therefore, it covers both male and female,” Justice Nagaprasanna said.

The court also said, “The submission that, in an intercourse the woman is only a passive participant, and a man is an active participant is noted only to be emphatically rejected, as the thought itself is archaic. The jurisprudence of the present times embraces the livid realities of victims and does not allow stereotypes to cloud legal scrutiny.”