Mumbai court sentences man for calling a girl ‘item’: ‘Outraging modesty…’

In the order, the court refused to show leniency to the accused and said such "roadside Romeos" need to be taught a lesson.

Mumbai special court sentenced a man to 1.5 years in prison and imposed a ₹500 fine in a judgment dated October 20 for “outraging the modesty of a minor girl” by calling her an “item”. According to the court, calling a girl an “item” is “derogatory and objectifies her in a sexual manner", news agency ANI reported.

Mumbai court sentences man for calling a girl ‘item’: ‘Outraging modesty…’

The accused used to tease the girl in 2015 - who was then a 16-year-old - when she used to return from school. Reportedly, when the girl asked the man not to harass her, he started abusing her and pulling her hair. She, along with her family, had then filed a complaint at Sakinaka police station in Mumbai. The accused was subsequently arrested and released on bail.

In the order, the court refused to show leniency to the accused and said such "roadside Romeos" need to be taught a lesson in order to protect women from such uncalled-for behaviour.

The accused was been booked under Section 354 (sexual harassment), Section 354 (D) (stalking) 506 (criminal intimidation), and Section 504 (intentional insult) of the Indian Penal Code (IPC) and relevant charges of the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences Act.

Observing that the accused's behaviour was “wholly inappropriate”, the court said that “the fact that the accused intentionally caught hold of the victim's hair and pulled it and called her an 'item', in my opinion, will certainly go to prove the fact of him having outraged her modesty".

“The accused addressed her by using the term 'item' which is a term used generally by boys to address girls in a derogatory fashion as it objectifies them in a sexual manner. The same will clearly indicate his intention of outraging her modesty," the order said.

(With inputs from ANI)