Forced Placement Of Vibrating Device On Vagina Is Penetrative Sexual Assault: Kerala HC

Last Updated:August 02, 2026, 22:52 IST

The Kerala High Court has ruled that placing a vibrating device on the vaginal opening of a minor constitutes penetrative sexual assault under the POCSO Act and rape under the IPC.

Kerala HC ruled that placing a vibrating device on the vaginal opening of a minor constitutes penetrative sexual assault (Kerala High Court |File pic)

The Kerala High Court has ruled that placing a vibrating device on the vaginal opening of a minor amounts to penetrative sexual assault under the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act, 2012, and also constitutes rape under the Indian Penal Code (IPC).

The observation came while the court dismissed an appeal filed by Joshy K J, who had challenged his conviction in a case involving the sexual assault of a 17-year-old girl. The trial court had sentenced him to 10 years of rigorous imprisonment, the minimum punishment prescribed under law.

In its judgment, the High Court said that placing a vibrating machine on the orifice of the vagina, labia majora or vulva is sufficient to amount to “insertion” under the law.

It held that such an act falls within the definition of penetrative sexual assault under Section 3(b) of the POCSO Act, punishable under Section 4, and also satisfies the definition of rape under Section 375(b) of the IPC.

“Here comes the significance of the statutory wording that ‘insert to any extent’. That means, placing a vibrating machine on the orifice of the vagina viz., labia majora, or vulva, by itself would be sufficient to find insertion of M.O1 on the vagina and the same is sufficient to hold that a person committed penetrative sexual assault as defined under Section 3(b) punishable under Section 4 of the POCSO Act. Similar is the position with regard to the offence of rape defined under Section 375(b) of the IPC,” a Bench of Justice A. Badharudeen observed,

According to the prosecution, the incident took place on July 20, 2019, at the residence of Monson Mavunkal, a self-styled antiques collector who was later arrested in a cheating case. Investigators alleged that Joshy, an associate of Mavunkal, took the teenager to a treatment room inside the house, forced her onto a treatment bed and used an oval-shaped, penis-like instrument attached to a vibrating machine, placing it on her vagina while it was switched on.

The prosecution further alleged that the accused threatened the girl with consequences if she disclosed the incident to anyone.

During the trial, the survivor told the court that she had been brought to Mavunkal’s house after failing some subjects in her Plus-II examinations. She said she had been promised cosmetology training and was later employed there as a staff member. She disclosed the alleged assault only after Mavunkal’s arrest in the cheating case.

While upholding the conviction, the High Court observed that the trial court had already awarded the statutory minimum sentence, leaving no legal scope for any further reduction. It therefore dismissed the appeal and affirmed both the conviction and the sentence.

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Anushka Vats

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