Maharashtra : Court’s comment – Saying ‘I love you’ is to show love, and acquitted 22-year-old youth of sexual harassment case
A special court in Mumbai acquitted a 22-year-old man of sexual assault charges. The court acquitted the accused saying that saying ‘I love you’ only once to a minor girl would amount to an expression of love. According to a report, in its order issued on Tuesday, the special court constituted under the Protection of Children from Sexual Offenses Act (POCSO) said that the prosecution is not producing any evidence of the accused which would outrage the modesty of the victim.
Special Judge Kalpana Patil said during the hearing that according to the victim, on the day of the incident, the accused told her I love you. This is not a case in which the accused continuously follows the victim and says I love you. The mere incident of saying ‘I love you’, at best would be deemed to express the feeling of love of the accused towards the victim. This act cannot be said to be intended to insult the modesty of the victim.
The accused is a neighbor of the victim and a case was registered against him in 2016 under sections 506 (criminal intimidation) and 509 (outraging the modesty of a woman) of the IPC and relevant sections of the pox.
