‘Molestation is easy to get away with’

After the molestation charge by two air hostesses against three footballers on Tuesday, legal experts have called for much tougher punishment for molestation.

After the molestation charge by two air hostesses against three footballers on Tuesday, legal experts have called for much tougher punishment for molestation.

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A cross-section of lawyers told Hindustan Times that the maximum punishment for molestation is too little to be a deterrent. “A serious crime like molestation is bailable while something as frivolous as trespassing is non-bailable,” said criminal lawyer Wahab Khan, adding: “Even an attempted rape can be considered molestation and becomes bailable,” Khan said.

Special Public Prosecutor Usha Makasare said: “There is practically no punishment for molestation in the section’s present form – the highest punishment for molestation is two years, and magistrates who pass a conviction tend to immediately grant bail.

Criminal lawyer Shrikant Bhatt, the dissenting voice on this issue, said: “Why do we need to make molestation non-bailable? Bail is to be denied if custodial interrogation is necessary – what interrogation will they do in a molestation case?

If molestation is an offence, what about deliberate sexual provocation by girls who wear skimpy clothes – that should also be made an offence,” said Bhatt.