Recently, the Single Bench of the Bombay High Court convicted the man who was charged with outraging the modesty of a minor. The bench of Justice Bharati Dangre held that Merely moving a hand over the back and head of a minor girl without any sexual intent does not amount to outraging her modesty,

Case Brief:

The Convict was charged back in the year 2012, when he was 18 years old, booked on charges of outraging the modesty of a 12-year-old girl. According to the victim, the accused had moved his hand on her back and head and commented that she had grown up. The order was passed on February 10 and was made available on March 13.

A single bench of Justice Bharati Dangre, while setting aside the conviction, noted there was no sexual intent on the part of the convict and that his utterance indicate he had seen the victim as a child.

"In order to outrage the modesty of a woman, what is most important is having the intention to outrage the modesty. It is not the case of the prosecution that the accused did something more than what has been alleged, that is, moving his hand over the back and head of the victim."

"Neither the victim girl aged 12-13 years spoke of any bad intention on his part, but what she deposed is she felt bad or indicating some unpleasant act, which made her uncomfortable," the judge said in the order.

The High Court further said the prosecution failed to produce any material to show there was a specific intention on part of the appellant to outrage the modesty of the girl.