Recently, while upholding a convict's sentencing under the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences Act (POCSO) case, the bench of Andhra Pradesh High Court said, Ejaculation of semen is not a necessary to prove penetrative sexual assault in Rape case. 

The bench headed by Justice Cheekati Manavendranath Roy, observed,

"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 Roy in his 22-page verdict.

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.

In the said matter, convicted person sexually assaulted 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, including a penalty of ₹ 5,000 levied on him.

Later, he challenged his sentence taking refuge in the doctor's report that there was no evidence of committing recent sexual intercourse with the victim as semen was not detected at the time of examination.

However, the doctor noted that there was blood in the vagina, including the penetration of a finger and the rupture of hymen despite the lack of semen, which indicates the girl was subjected to sexual intercourse, the judge observed.