An Indian court has ruled that groping a child through their clothing does not constitute sexual assault, inciting outrage across the country and frustrating advocacy groups struggling to address widespread sexual abuse against women and children.

In a judgement last week by the Bombay High Court Justice Pushpa Ganediwala found that a 39-year-old man was not guilty of sexually assaulting a 12-year-old girl, as he had not removed her clothes, arguing that there was no "skin-on-skin contact".

According to court documents, the incident took place in December 2016, when the accused brought the child to his house on the pretext of giving her guava - after which he proceeded to touch her inappropriately, and attempted to remove her clothing.

The man was found guilty of sexual assault and sentenced to three years in prison in a lower court, but then submitted an appeal to the High Court.

In her judgment on January 19, Justice Ganediwala found that his act "would not fall in the definition of 'sexual assault'" which carries a minimum three year prison term which can be extended to five years.

"Considering the stringent nature of punishment provided for the offense, in the opinion of this court, stricter proof and serious allegations are required" according to the judge, despite the fact that India's Protection of Children From Sexual Offenses Act 2012 does not explicitly state that skin-on-skin contact is needed to constitute sexual assault.

Justice Ganediwala acquitted the accused of sexual assault but convicted him on the lesser charge of molestation and sentenced him to a year in prison.

Sexual assault is monumental issue in India, where sexual crimes are often brutal and widespread, but are consistently poorly dealt with under the country's justice system. Based on official figures from 2018, the rape of a woman is reported every 16 minutes.