The Kerala High Court, in a significant ruling, quashed proceedings against a 79-year-old paediatrician, Dr. C. M. Aboobacker, who was accused of committing aggravated sexual assault on a 10th-grade student during a medical examination. The case was filed under IPC Section 354A(1)(i) and Sections 9 and 10 of the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act, 2012.
Dr. Aboobacker had approached the Court seeking to quash the criminal proceedings, arguing that the examination was strictly clinical and conducted in the presence of the child’s relatives. The alleged incident occurred during consultations on April 11 and April 17, 2023, when the child visited the doctor for treatment related to chest and abdominal pain, pain on the collarbone, and growth issues.
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According to the complaint, during the examination, the doctor first used a stethoscope on the child's chest and later allegedly inserted his hands inside her innerwear and pressed her breasts and navel area. The first consultation was in the presence of the mother, and the second was in the presence of the elder sister. It was only during the second visit, after the sister noticed the child shivering, that she raised her voice, leading to a police complaint.
The child had informed her elder sister before the second visit about feeling discomfort during the first examination. However, the sister initially dismissed it as a misunderstanding. In her statement under Section 164 CrPC, the victim described the doctor's touch as a "bad touch", but the High Court emphasized that this isolated remark could not conclusively indicate sexual intent.
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“It would be highly unsafe and improper to act upon the above isolated casual remark of the victim, to come to a conclusion that the petitioner had acted with sexual intention. The chances of that adolescent girl getting misunderstood about the act of the petitioner cannot be ignored,”
noted Justice G. Girish.
The Court held that for charges under IPC Section 354A(1)(i) and Section 7 of the POCSO Act, sexual intention must be clearly established. Since the alleged acts occurred in the presence of the mother and elder sister, and there were no claims of examination being done out of their sight, the Court found it difficult to presume a sexual motive.
“It is too hard to believe that the petitioner would have resorted to sexual advances upon the victim in the close presence of the victim’s mother and elder sister,”
the Court added.
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The judgment further pointed out that under Section 41 of the POCSO Act, acts done during medical examination with the consent of a parent or guardian are not criminalised. Since both examinations were done with such consent and in the presence of family members, the Court concluded that the prosecution failed to establish sexual intent.
Consequently, the Kerala High Court allowed the petition and quashed all proceedings pending against Dr. Aboobacker in Special Court under the POCSO Act, Kozhikode.
Case Title: Dr. C. M. Aboobacker v. State of Kerala and Another
Case No: Crl.M.C. No. 3538 of 2025
Petitioner’s Advocates: Nirmal S., Veena Hari, Keerthy Johnson, Mintu Jose, Gini George, Aishwarya Shivakumar
Respondent’s Advocate: Pushpalatha M. K. (Senior Public Prosecutor)
