Mumbai Man, 19, Holds Girl's Hand, Says "I Love You", Jailed For 2 Years

A special POCSO court in Mumbai has sentenced a 19-year-old man to two years rigorous imprisonment for holding the hand of a minor girl and saying 'I love you'.

The special Protection of Children from Sexual Offences Act (POCSO) court judge, Ashwini Lokhande, held that the words uttered by the accused certainly outraged the modesty of the 14-year-old girl. 

The court, in its order passed on July 30, pronounced the accused guilty of harassment under the IPC.

The accused was, however, acquitted of charges under the stringent POCSO Act.

As per the prosecution, the minor girl's mother had lodged a complaint with the Sakinaka police station in September 2019. The complainant told the police her daughter went to a nearby shop to buy tea dust, but returned home crying.

Upon enquiry, the girl told her mother a man accosted her on the first floor of the building, held her hand and said 'I love you', according to the complaint.

The young man pleaded not guilty to charges brought against him. During the trial, the prosecution examined four witnesses, including the girl 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 girl and she herself called him to meet on the day of the incident.

The court, in its order, however, noted that if the girl 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 girl 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 girl 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.

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