Chennai: The Madras High Court has observed that whistling at a minor girl and pulling her hand cannot automatically be treated as sexual harassment or sexual assault.
The court made the observation while suspending the three-year prison sentence awarded to a man by a special court under the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act.
What the Madras High Court said
Justice M. Nirmal Kumar noted that the allegations against the petitioner were that he whistled at the girl from a balcony. When she did not respond, he came downstairs and pulled her hand. The girl then freed herself and informed her mother about the incident.
After examining the statements of witnesses and the available records, the court observed that the act, by itself, could not be immediately interpreted as being driven by sexual intent.
The judge said the incident could at most amount to harassment.
Sentence suspended during appeal
The High Court said the appeal raises issues that require detailed examination and that the final hearing may take some time.
Based on it, the court decided to suspend the three-year sentence imposed on the petitioner until the appeal is finally heard.
The petitioner argued that he had earlier been involved in a physical altercation with the girl’s father.
According to him, the victim’s parents later used the girl’s age to file a false case alleging sexual assault following the dispute.
