Subhechcha Ganguly 
The Nagpur bench of the Bombay High Court has acquitted a 27-year-old man who was earlier convicted of sexually harassing a minor girl in 2017, ruling that merely saying “I love you” and holding her hand does not amount to sexual harassment under law.
Justice Urmila Joshi-Phalke, presiding over the single-judge bench, set aside the previous conviction, stating that the prosecution failed to establish sufficient evidence to prove the charges under the Indian Penal Code and the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act.
The incident occurred in October 2017 when the girl, then 17 years old, was returning home from college. According to her complaint, the accused — also 17 at the time — approached her on a motorcycle, held her hand, and professed his love. Following her complaint, an FIR was filed, and the accused was later convicted by a sessions court under IPC Sections 354A (sexual harassment), 354D (stalking), and Section 8 of the POCSO Act.
However, the accused challenged the verdict, asserting that there was no witness to the incident and that the case was rooted in personal enmity. He also argued that there was no clear evidence of stalking or unwelcome advances.
After reviewing the evidence, the High Court found no proof of repeated following, coercion, or sexual intent as required under the law. The bench noted that a one-time interaction without further harassment did not satisfy the legal criteria for conviction under POCSO or the IPC sections applied.
The verdict has reignited discussions around the interpretation of intent, consent, and the evidentiary standards in cases involving minors under POCSO.
