Kissing boy forcibly on lips, touching private parts not 'unnatural offence' under IPC 377: Bombay HC

Forcibly kissing someone on the lips, and touching private parts are not unnatural offences under Section 377 of the Indian Penal Code. The Bombay High Court reportedly said this while granting bail to a man accused of sexually assaulting a 14-year-old boy.

The man was arrested last year after the boy's father filed a police complaint. The boy used to visit the accused man's shop in Mumbai for recharging an online game 'Ola Party', according to news agency PTI.

The boy claimed that one day when he visited the shop, he was forcibly kissed, and his private parts were touched. Subsequently, the man was booked under IPC Section 377, and some sections of the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences, or POCSO, Act.

IPC 377 pertains to "carnal intercourse against the order of nature with any man, woman, or animal". It carries a maximum penalty of life imprisonment.

Bombay High Court's Justice Anuja Prabhudessai said that the element of unnatural sex was not prima facie applicable. The judge also said that a medical test conducted on the boy did not support his statement of sexual assault.