A special Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) court in Mumbai sentenced a 19-year-old man to two years of rigorous imprisonment for molestation after he held the hand of a 14-year-old girl and said "I love you." The court, presided over by Judge Ashwini Lokhande, ruled on July 30 that the accused's actions and words amounted to an outrage of the 14-year-old's modesty, leading to his conviction under the relevant section. The accused was, however, acquitted of charges under the stringent POCSO Act.
What was the whole matter?
According to the prosecution, the case was filed in September 2019 when the mother of the minor girl lodged a complaint at the Sakinaka police station. The complaint stated that the 14-year-old had gone to a nearby shop to buy tea dust but returned home in tears. Upon inquiry, the girl revealed that a man had taken her to the first floor of a building, held her hand, and said "I love you." The accused pleaded not guilty to the charges, but during the trial, the prosecution presented four witnesses, including the victim and her mother, to establish his guilt.
What the court contended?
The accused claimed innocence and defended himself, claiming he was having an affair with the victim and she herself called him to meet on the day of the incident. The court, in its order, however, noted that if the victim had an affair with the accused, she would have not narrated the incident to her mother under fear. Further, when the girl’s mother went to confront the accused after the incident, he threatened and asked her to “do whatever she wanted”, the judge observed. The evidence of the victim and her mother is corroborated with each other. Nothing material has come on record to rebut their evidence, contended the court.
Moreover, the suggestion regarding the love affair of the victim with the accused was denied by both these witnesses (minor girl and her mother), the court said, adding their evidence inspires confidence. “It is established that the accused applied criminal force to the victim by holding her hand while she was proceeding to bring tea dust. The words uttered by the accused certainly outraged the modesty of the victim who was 14 years old at the time of the incident,” the judge noted.
(With PTI inputs)
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