Court sends man to 1 year in jail for sexually harassing minor

New Delhi, Sep 12 (PTI) A Delhi court has sentenced a man to one year imprisonment for sexually harassing a 16-year-old girl, saying eve-teasing violates a woman’s right to live with dignity.

Additional sessions judge Neeti Suri Mishra was hearing the arguments on sentencing against the 28-year-old man, a barber, after convicting him under Section 12 (sexual harassment) of the POCSO Act.

Special public prosecutor Yogita Kaushik Dahiya said the convict did not deserve any leniency for the "abominable and reprehensible" act committed in February 2020, which "traumatised and humiliated" the minor.

In an order on September 9, the court said, "The convict had committed sexual harassment upon the victim in her tender years by making gestures with sexual intent towards her and also tried to contact her by sending a request to her to provide her mobile number." Due to such people, the court said, it was unsafe to send children outside alone.

Though the sexual offence could have been an isolated act for the convict, it deeply impacted an innocent child’s life, it added.

"Eve-teasing violates the right to live with dignity of a woman, particularly minor girls. Obscene acts which annoy others in public places need to be curbed and the persons like the convict who indulge in such enjoyment do not seem to realise how the mind of the child may be affected by undue harassment," the court said.

The court also imposed a Rs 30,000 fine on the convict.

The minor survivor was compensated with Rs 1 lakh after the court underlined the mental trauma she faced, leaving a deep scar on her emotional well-being. PTI MNR MNR AMK AMK