The Bombay High Court has said that merely moving one's hand over the back and head of a minor girl without sexual intent does not amount to outraging her modesty.
The court made the observations while quashing the conviction of a 28-year-old man. The order was issued on 10 February and made available on 13 March.
The case dates back to 2012 when the convict was booked for allegedly touching the girl's back and head and commenting that she had grown up.
A single bench of Justice Bharati Dangre, while setting aside the conviction, noted there was no sexual intent on the part of the convict and that his utterance indicate he had seen the victim as a child.
"In order to outrage the modesty of a woman, what is most important is having an intention to outrage the modesty. It is not the case of the prosecution that the accused did something more than what has been alleged, that is, moving his hand over the back and head of the victim.
"Neither the victim girl aged 12-13 years spoke of any bad intention on his part, but what she deposed is she felt bad or indicating some unpleasant act, which made her uncomfortable," the judge said in the order.
The HC further said the prosecution failed to produce any material to show there was a specific intention on part of the appellant to outrage the modesty of the girl.
(With PTI inputs)
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