Thane court acquits man of stalking, harassing minor girl; finds no 'sexual intent'

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A court in Thane has acquitted a man accused of stalking and sexually harassing a minor girl, observing that his actions did not demonstrate "sexual intent", a key element required under the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act, reported news agency PTI.

Accused allegedly professed love to minor in 2019

The accused, Mayuresh Kailas Shelke (25), a labourer, allegedly entered the 15-year-old victim's home in Thane city in 2019 and professed his love, reported PTI.

Delivering the verdict, Judge Ruby U Malvankar observed that "there was no physical contact with the victim," and that the words used by the accused, when seen in the context of the case, did not amount to an intent indicating sexual intention, reported PTI.

What amounts to sexual intent is a question of fact: Judge

"What constitutes such sexuality or sexual intent and what is not is a question of fact, and in the case in hand, there does not appear any such sexual intent from the words used by the accused," the court noted.

A copy of the order passed on December 22, 2025, was made available on Tuesday.

FIR details: Incident took place in Dombivli chawl

The case stemmed from an FIR lodged in 2019 by the victim, who alleged that Shelke, her neighbour, entered her home in a chawl at Mhatre Nagar in Dombivli on November 1, 2019, while she was studying alone.

Prosecution alleged stalking and repeated phone calls

As per the prosecution, the accused told the victim, "Do not address me as ‘Dada', I love you", and had been stalking her and making repeated phone calls, reported PTI.

Charges framed under IPC and POCSO Act

The prosecution charged Shelke under Sections 354D (stalking) and 441 (criminal trespass) of the Indian Penal Code, along with Sections 7 (sexual assault) and 11 (sexual harassment) of the POCSO Act.

Defence challenges lack of independent witnesses

Defence counsel Amresh S Jadhav challenged the prosecution's case, pointing out that the incident allegedly occurred in a densely populated chawl, yet no independent witnesses were produced to corroborate the allegations.

Prosecution fails to prove legal ingredients: Court

The court reiterated that determining sexual intent is a question of fact and concluded that the prosecution failed to establish the essential legal ingredients of the offences charged, reported PTI.

Evidence insufficient to sustain conviction

While acknowledging that the victim was a minor at the time of the alleged incident, the court held that the evidence on record was insufficient to sustain a conviction.

(With inputs from PTI)