Thane court acquits man accused of kissing minor girl; says no criminal intent in act

A special court in Maharashtras Thane has acquitted a man in a case of molesting a threeyearold girl by kissing her on her cheek in 2021 saying his gesture cannot be viewed as a criminal act as any person fond of children may do so out of natural instinct reported news agency PTIThe court gave the accused the benefit of the doubt saying there was a lack of clear criminal intent on his part and that the prosecution failed to prove the charges against himIn an order passed on August 22 special judge Ruby U Malvankar hearing cases pertaining to the Protection of Children from the Sexual Offences POCSO Act acquitted 54yearold Omprakash Rambachan Giri who was accused of hugging and kissing the minor girl on two separate occasions on January 9 2021 reported PTIThe police had booked him under sections of the POCSO Act and section 354 assault or use of criminal force to a woman with intent to outrage her modesty of the Indian Penal Code IPCThe court said The alleged act for which the prosecution came to be conducted against the accused cannot be categorised as an act which can in all cases be said to be an inappropriate touch or bad touch Considering the age of the victim at the relevant time any person who is fond of children out of natural instinct may pick her up may affectionately kiss her on her cheek which ordinarily happens in society reported PTIIn a country like ours such kind of gesture unless it is hurting the child or unless it is done by a total stranger with a bad intention is not really considered objectionable or offensive Therefore in this case also since the accused was not a total stranger as he was a resident of the same locality it cannot be categorised as an altogether criminal act it added reported PTIThe court observed that the child did not cry from pain during the alleged incidents The judge concluded in all such circumstances the element of outraging the modesty of the victim is rather missing and the affectionate gesture cannot be viewed as a criminal act beyond a reasonable doubt reported PTIBased on these findings the court extended the benefit of the doubt to the accused leading to his acquittal The charges under section 354 of the IPC and section 8 sexual act of the POCSO Act were not proven and Giri was acquitted of all offencesThe court also noted that the prosecution failed to provide a birth certificate or any documentary evidence to prove the victim was a child under the POCSO Act Although the mother testified that her daughter was three years old her oral testimony was not supported by evidenceThe judge pointed out a missing link in the testimonies of the witnessesThe mother did not witness the alleged incident herself relying on information from a 12yearold girl and another child it saidThe investigating officer failed to record the statement of a crucial witness who had informed the mother about the second alleged incident the court said reported PTIDespite the allegation of a scratch mark on the childs cheek the investigating officer did not conduct a medical examination of the victim calling the testimony of the prosecution witness mere improvement to the caseThe victims own testimony recorded when she was seven years old was deemed unreliable The victim admitted in her crossexamination that her father had instructed her on what to say in court leading the court to conclude that the possibility of her tutoring cannot be overruledWith inputs from PTI