The Supreme Court acquitted the appellant of charges under Section 8(2) of the Goa Children’s Act, 2003, ruling that a single, incidental act of hitting a child with a school bag during a scuffle, absent evidence of deliberate cruelty or sustained maltreatment, does not meet the legal definition of “child abuse.” The Court also set aside the conviction under Section 504 IPC, finding no intent to provoke a breach of peace. However, convictions under Sections 323 and 352 IPC were upheld, with the appellant granted probation.
Facts Of The Case:
On February 1, 2013, an incident occurred on the premises of St. Ann’s School in Goa involving the appellant, Santosh Khajnekar. He was alleged to have hit a child with a school bag belonging to his own son during a sudden altercation. The First Information Report (FIR) concerning this event was lodged after a significant delay of eight days, on February 9, 2013. Based on the complaint, the appellant was charged with offences under Sections 323 (voluntarily causing hurt), 352 (assault or criminal force otherwise than on grave provocation), and 504 (intentional insult with intent to provoke breach of the peace) of the Indian Penal Code, as well as the more serious charge under Section 8(2) of the Goa Children’s Act, 2003, for committing “child abuse.” The trial court convicted him on all counts, a decision which was later partly upheld by the High Court, though his sentence was substantially reduced. The appellant then appealed to the Supreme Court, contending that the act was unintentional and a momentary reaction during a scuffle, and thus did not constitute the sustained maltreatment or cruelty required to be classified as “child abuse” under the specific law.
Procedural History:
The procedural history of this case began with the appellant’s conviction and sentencing by the President of the Children’s Court for the State of Goa at Panaji on January 6 and 20, 2017, for offences under Sections 323, 352, and 504 of the IPC and Section 8(2) of the Goa Children’s Act, 2003. Aggrieved by this decision, the appellant filed Criminal Appeal No. 10 of 2017 before the High Court of Bombay at Goa. In its judgment dated November 11, 2022, the High Court partly allowed the appeal by substantially reducing the sentences imposed for the substantive offences but upheld the convictions. Subsequently, the appellant approached the Supreme Court of India by filing the present Criminal Appeal via special leave, which culminated in the final judgment.
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Court Observation:
Final Decision & Judgement:
In its final judgment, the Supreme Court partly allowed the appeal. It acquitted the appellant of the most serious charges, ruling that his conviction under Section 8(2) of the Goa Children’s Act, 2003, and Section 504 of the IPC was unsustainable and set aside. However, the Court upheld his convictions for the lesser offences of voluntarily causing hurt (Section 323 IPC) and assault (Section 352 IPC). Instead of imposing a prison sentence, the Court extended the benefit of probation to the appellant. He was ordered to be released upon furnishing a bond to keep peace and maintain good behaviour for a period of one year.
Case Details:
Case Title: Santosh Sahadev Khajnekar vs. The State of Goa Citation: 2025 INSC 1041 Criminal Appeal No.: Criminal Appeal No(s). 1991 of 2023 Date of Judgement: August 26, 2025 Judges/Justice Name: Justice Sanjay Karol and Justice Sandeep Mehta
Download The Judgement Here