📷 Image: Wikimedia Commons / Sumita Roy Dutta
Crime
Himachal Pradesh High Court Upholds 20-Year POCSO Sentence, Affirms Penetrative Assault Punishment
✍️ The Times of India
🗓 29 Sep 2026, 05:03 PM
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The Himachal Pradesh High Court has upheld a 20‑year sentence handed down under the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences Act, ruling that the absence of physical injury does not negate a conviction for penetrative sexual assault.
The Himachal Pradesh High Court has upheld a 20‑year sentence imposed under the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act. The court ruled that the lack of physical injury in the case does not invalidate the conviction for penetrative sexual assault. The decision confirms that the offence is punishable irrespective of the presence or absence of bodily harm. The judgment reinforces the judiciary’s stance that the severity of the crime, not the extent of injury, determines the punishment under POCSO.