Lucknow: The Lucknow bench of Allahabad High Court has held that a survivor of penetrative sexual assault under the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (Pocso) Act cannot be denied statutory compensation merely because a medical report does not note physical injuries.A division bench of Justice Shekhar B Saraf and Justice Amitabh Kumar Rai directed authorities to release Rs 3 lakh to the survivor under the Uttar Pradesh Rani Lakshmi Bai Mahila Samman Kosh scheme within 10 days from the production of a certified copy of the order. The court said the district steering committee’s decision to withhold the amount was contrary to law and the scheme’s provisions.The matter stems from an FIR lodged at Sarojini Nagar police station in Lucknow on Dec 7, 2022, followed by a chargesheet filed on Jan 13, 2023.Under the state scheme, a survivor of penetrative sexual assault punishable under Section 4 of the Pocso Act is entitled to Rs 3 lakh, with Rs 1 lakh to be paid within 15 days of registration of the FIR and the remaining Rs 2 lakh within one month of filing of the chargesheet.The district steering committee had withheld the compensation, citing the absence of medical evidence supporting penetrative sexual assault. The state counsel defended the decision, arguing that the medical report did not record penetrative injuries.Rejecting the argument, the bench observed that physical injury is not a necessary condition to establish penetrative sexual assault under Section 3 of the Pocso Act. The court said the absence of injury marks cannot, by itself, negate an allegation of sexual assault.It held that when the FIR and chargesheet disclose an offence under Section 4, compensation cannot be denied solely because the medical report does not record injuries. The court described the scheme as a beneficial measure and said it must be interpreted liberally to address victims’ trauma.
