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Synopsis

Special Judge Priya Bankar of the Special POCSO Court in Mumbai has convicted a man and sentenced him to imprisonment of 3 years and has imposed a fine of Rs 25000 for molesting a minor Marathi actress in a local train. The man was booked under the Indian Penal Code and POCSO Act.

It was alleged by the complainant that when she was getting inside the train, the accused kept his hand on the shoulders of the complainant. When she looked at the man angrily, he inserted his hand in her top and pressed her breast. The complainant and her friend then caught the man and handed him over to Mulund Police. The police who were on duty at Mulund Station took the accused to Kurla Station. However, the incident had taken place at Dadar, he was then taken to Dadar Police.

The accused had also argued that there are special coaches for women and there was no need for the victim to board the general coach. The court said that though there are special coaches, there is no restriction or prohibition on women boarding the general coaches. The court said,

“No doubt there are separate coach for women in train, but definitely entry of women in general coach is not restricted or prohibited and they can travel in general coach like any other passenger passenger. Besides This, it is a prosecution case that at the relevant time, the victim was traveling with her male friend. If they both have to travel together, the victim was required to travel in general coach alongwith her male friend. So, looking to the same, nothing is abnormal to travel with male friend in a general coach.”

The man had disputed the fact that the complainant could not have identified him in such a crowded train without turning back and that there was a misidentification of the accused. However, the court in its order noted that:

“It is not necessary to turn back, even by turning neck it can be possible. So, on the admission of the witness that it was not possible to turn back during rush hours inference cannot be drawn that the victim was not in a position to see the accused behind her."

While holding that the prosecution had proved that the accused had done the act with the intention to outrage the modesty of the victim, the court said,

“He knowingly and intentionally inserted his hand inside the t- shirt of the victim. The act itself is sufficient to show that it is done with sexual intend. So, the prosecution has proved that the accused has touched the breast of the victim, by inserting his hand inside the top of the victim. Thus, the prosecution has proved that the accused has committed offence of outraging modesty of the victim, sexual harassment as he done the physical contact with advances involving unwelcome and explicit sexual overtures and sexually assaulted her.”

Further while noting that the girls are not safe in society even when they are surrounded by people, the court said,

“The incident has taken place in a very crowded area. There is very adverse impact of the incident on victim girl, on her family members and society. Such type of incident causing alarm in the minds of people and shows that the girls are not safe in the society, even when they are surrounded by many people.”

The Court also directed that out of the Rs. 25000 to be paid by the man, Rs. 20000 should be given to the victim and in event of failure to pay the amount by the man, the Legal Service Authority should pay the said amount to the victim from the Victim Compensation Fund.