A Thane trial court has acquitted a 25 year old man accused of stalking and sexually harassing a minor girl, holding that the prosecution failed to establish “sexual intent”, a mandatory requirement to attract offences under the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act, offering clarity on the threshold for criminal liability in such cases.
The case arose from an incident in 2019 in Thane city, where the accused, a labourer, was alleged to have entered the home of a 15 year old girl and expressed romantic interest in her. The prosecution charged him with offences including stalking and sexual harassment of a minor, contending that his conduct was sufficient to invoke the rigours of the POCSO Act. The defence, however, argued that while the conduct may have been inappropriate, it did not carry the sexual element necessary to sustain a conviction under the special law.
After evaluating the evidence on record, the court concluded that the accused’s actions did not meet the statutory requirement of sexual intent under POCSO. The court observed that “sexual intent is a sine qua non for constituting an offence under the Act” and found no material to suggest that the accused’s conduct crossed that legal threshold. On this reasoning, the court acquitted the accused of all charges and discharged him from the case.
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