Mumbai court sentences man to one day for molesting woman on local train

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A Mumbai court sentenced a man to a one-day sentence for allegedly molesting a woman, stated a report in PTI. According to the report, a metropolitan magistrate BK Gawande, in an order dated December 4, deemed the offence 'heinous' and consequently denied the accused the benefit of probation.

The accused, a 49-year-old man, reportedly, on August 13, 2019, molested the woman while she was travelling on a Western Railway local train. According to the report, the woman along with her brother, reprimanded the accused and took him to the Bandra railway police station.

The court considered the facts presented by the complainant woman and other witnesses, concluding that the incident occurred. According to the court's observations, the accused's conduct was intentional and done with the understanding that they would offend the woman's modesty.

"The evidence of the informant (woman) clearly established that the accused did the said act (molestation) with an intention and knowledge that by doing such act the modesty of the informant would certainly be outraged," the court, according to the PTI report, said.

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The prosecution successfully demonstrated beyond a reasonable doubt that the accused violated Section 354 of the Indian Penal Code (outraging a woman's modesty).

The court refused probation for the accused, emphasising the gravity of the act, calling it "heinous." It emphasised how the accused's acts were an insult to the woman's modesty and hinted at potentially harsher intentions.

"It is clear from the evidence on record that the accused was found outraging the modesty of the informant woman, which goes to show that the accused could have had worse intentions," the court added.

As a result, the court sentenced the man to one day in jail and fined him Rs 1,000. Furthermore, it rejected the accused's claim of being falsely implicated, finding that there was no prior personal animosity between the woman and him.

Meanwhile, the police have registered a case against a 26-year-old US national for allegedly sexually harassing a woman house-keeping staffer at Navi Mumbai hotel, an official said on Sunday. According to the report, the incident took place at around 11.30 am on Saturday at the hotel in Turbhe area.

With PTI inputs