Mumbai: Convicting a 28-year-old youth of the offence of sexual harassment beneath the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act, a specific court mentioned that asking an eight-year-old girl no matter whether she is obtaining an affair undoubtedly amounts to sexual harassment beneath the Act.
Deciding on the query of no matter whether asking the kid, “Tera kisi ke sath chakkar chal raha hai kya (Are you having an affair with someone)” amounts to sexually harassing the kid, specific judge beneath the POCSO Act MA Baraliya mentioned in her judgment that asking such a query to a matured girl can not quantity to sexual harassment beneath the POCSO Act, but asking such a query to a girl hardly eight years old who does not fully grasp what has been asked, is undoubtedly sexual harassment as defined beneath the Act.
“The girl was so minor, to put her such a question itself amounts to sexual harassment,” judge Baraliya mentioned.
The youth was also charged with offences of outraging modesty beneath the IPC and aggravated sexual assault beneath the POCSO Act. The court acquitted him of these charges and mentioned that it can not be mentioned that the act of lifting the kid up by the accused was necessarily a physical make contact with with sexual intention. The court mentioned that similarly, it can not be mentioned that by attempting to lift her up, he had outraged her modesty.
It sentenced him to 26 days in jail – the time he had currently spent in prison ahead of becoming granted bail and imposed a fine of Rs 2,000. The court mentioned that for a single sentence he uttered to the kid he is convicted and the sentence he has currently undergone is adequate.
As per the prosecution’s case, the kid and her mother had gone to the shop of the mother of the accused to get chicken fry. As his mother did not have alter, the shopkeeper had asked the girl to fetch alter from her son, who was at house. The accused had offered her alter and then asked her if she had an affair with somebody. When she denied it, he had told her he knew about it and would inform her father and her father would beat her. He had then attempted to lift her, but she had fled.