13 November,2019 10:40 AM IST | | mid-day online correspondent
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A 31-year-old man was charged with outraging the modesty of a teenager by hugging her after trespassing into her home.
According to a report in Mumbai Mirror, Special judge MH More convicted the man under sections 448, 354 and 354A of the Indian Penal Code. He was sentenced to rigorous imprisonment for one year. He was acquitted of the charges under the POCSO Act.
As per the prosecution, the victim's father was at work on February 27, 2017 when he received a call from his daughter at noon. She claimed that the accused had caught hold of her and then hung up the call.
When the complainant came home, his daughter told him that the accused had entered their house while her brother was in the loo. He put his hand on her shoulder and hugged her. She protested and pushed back, because of which the accused fell on the floor. She then ran away and shouted for help. A case was filed at the Trombay police station.
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The defence argued saying that the victim's exact age was not brought on record and neither had a birth certificate been produced before the court. The court observed that the basic source was not as reliable since he was not able to mention the correct date of birth during the deposition.
However, the judge noted that the victim's brother had seen the accused running away from the spot after hearing the sister's screams and that the victim had no problem in identifying the accused who lived near her house.
The court held that while the charges under the IPC were proved against the accused, the prosecution could not prove that the victim was a minor. Hence, the charges under the POCSO Act were dropped.
A special court acquitted the man under the POCSO Act but sentenced him to a year's imprisonment for outraging the modesty of a teenager by hugging her after trespassing into her home.
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