Lomate, headmaster at Shri Sant Dnyaneshwar Prathmik Ashram School, Osmanabad district was accused by an assistant teacher of outraging her modesty.
The Bombay High Court has held that the act of touching the hand of a fellow female colleague was not sufficient to constitute the offence of outraging the modesty of a woman.
The high court's division bench, comprising of Justice TV Nalawade and Justice KK Sonawane, quashed an FIR filed against Dilip Lomate under Section 354 (assault or criminal force to a woman with intent to outrage her modesty) of the Indian Penal Code.
Lomate, headmaster at Shri Sant Dnyaneshwar Prathmik Ashram School, Osmanabad district was accused by an assistant teacher of outraging her modesty.
“The bare act of touching hands of fellow woman-teacher by the headmaster while assuring her that her pending bills will be cleared by him and pleading her not to complaint against him to school trustees would not itself be sufficient to constitute the offence of outraging the modesty of the complainant teacher,” said a bench of Justice TV Nalawade and Justice KK Sonawane, on Saturday, striking down criminal prosecution of the headmaster.
