Ejaculation not Necessary to Prove Rape: High Court

New Delhi: Ejaculation of semen is not a necessary condition to prove penetrative sexual assault; the Andhra Pradesh High Court pointed this out while upholding a convict’s sentencing under the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences Act (POCSO).

“When a penetrative sexual assault is committed on a child below 12 years, it amounts to aggravated penetrative sexual assault under Section 5(m) of the POCSO Act and Section 6 prescribes punishment against the person, who has committed the said aggravated penetrative sexual assault,” said Justice Cheekati Manavendranath Roy in his verdict.

This person was convicted for sexually assaulting a minor girl in 2015, was sentenced to 10 years of rigourous imprisonment by a Special Judge at Eluru in West Godavari district in 2016.

The convict challenged the judgment with the plea that doctor had not found semen during the medical examination of the victim. However, the doctor noted that there was evidence of penetration of a finger and the rupture of hymen despite the lack of semen.

Simply because semen was not detected, it cannot be said with all certainty that there was no penetration. All that is required to prove the offence of ‘penetrative sexual assault’, defined under Section 3 of the POCSO Act, is mere penetration of penis or any object or part of the body into the vagina, mouth, urethra or anus of a child, said the judge.

Further, the judge upheld the 2016 verdict of the Special Judge under POCSO Act.