Court Sentences Youth To 2 Years Rigorous Jail Term For Holding Minor’s Hand And Saying ‘I Love You’

Mumbai: A 19-year-old youth was sentenced to two years of rigorous imprisonment by a POCSO Court in Mumbai for holding the hand of a 14-year-old girl and saying ‘I love you’. The court, in its order passed on July 30, pronounced the accused guilty of molestation under the Indian Penal Code (IPC). The accused was, however, acquitted of charges under the stringent Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act.

The special POCSO court judge, Ashwini Lokhande, held that the words uttered by the accused certainly outraged the modesty of the 14-year-old victim. As per the prosecution, the minor girl’s mother had lodged a complaint with the Sakinaka police station in September 2019. In her complaint, she stated that the police and her daughter went to a nearby shop to buy tea dust.

However, on her return, she started crying at home. Upon enquiry, the girl told her mother that a man accosted her on the first floor of the building, held her hand and said ‘I love you’.

During the trial, the young man pleaded not guilty to charges brought against him, however, the prosecution examined four witnesses, including the victim and her mother, to establish the guilt of the accused. The accused claimed innocence and defended himself, claiming he was having an affair with the victim and she 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 with the court.

Moreover, the suggestion regarding the love affair of the victim with the accused was denied by both these witnesses (the 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.