Simply saying “I love you” to a minor girl does not amount to sexual harassment: HC

MUMBAI: Bombay High Court acquits man for allegedly sexually harassing a minor, ruling that saying "I love you" and holding her hand isn't harassment.

MUMBAI: The Nagpur bench of Bombay high court on Monday acquitted a 27-year-old man accused of sexually harassing a minor girl in 2015, observing that he could not be convicted for merely saying “I love you” to the girl and holding her hand.

Simply saying “I love you” to a minor girl does not amount to sexual harassment: HC

The incident dates back to October 2017 in Nagpur when the 17-year-old girl was walking back home from her college. The accused, who was also aged 17, allegedly approached her on a motorcycle, held her hand and said ‘I love you’. Based on her complaint, the police registered an FIR against the accused.

A sessions court had convicted the man under Section 354A (sexual harassment) and 354D (stalking) of the Indian Penal Code as well as Section 8 (sexual harassment) of the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act, 2012.

A single-judge bench of justice Urmila Joshi-Phalke heard a petition filed by the accused in 2017 challenging his conviction by an additional sessions judge in Nagpur.

The man claimed that he was booked due to previous enmity between the duo and that there was no witness to the incident. He further claimed that the charges put up against him were also not established as there was no evidence to show he had followed her and forced personal interaction despite a clear indication of disinterest from her.

Taking this into account, the high court set aside his conviction noting that the prosecution could not prove the ‘sexual intent’ of the accused and said that merely expressing his feelings saying ‘I love you’ and holding her hand does not amount to sexual harassment.