5 hrs ago
Thane Court Sentences Man to Three Years for Assault
A court in Thane found a man guilty of assaulting a 16-year-old girl.
The incident happened on a public road in February 2019.
The court said the girl’s account was clear and believable.
It found that the man stopped her, held her hand, and came physically close to her.
The man was sentenced to three years in prison for sexual assault.
He also received a shorter sentence and fine for stopping her from moving freely.
The court rejected his request for probation instead of imprisonment.
It said the incident could make a child feel afraid and affect her dignity.
The court did not convict him of intentional insult or separate sexual harassment because the physical contact was treated as sexual assault.
A Thane special POCSO court sentenced Sainath alias Kalu Suresh Waghe to three years’ rigorous imprisonment.
The court convicted him of sexually assaulting and outraging the modesty of a 16-year-old girl in 2019.
He was also sentenced to one month’s simple imprisonment and fined Rs 500 for wrongful restraint.
The court imposed an additional Rs 3,000 fine under the POCSO Act; the prison terms will run concurrently.
The accused was acquitted of intentional insult and separate sexual-harassment charges.
- Who
- Sainath alias Kalu Suresh Waghe, then 20, was convicted after a 16-year-old girl reported the assault.
- What
- He was convicted of sexual assault, outraging the girl’s modesty, and wrongful restraint, and was sentenced to imprisonment and fines.
- Where
- Thane city, on a public road.
- When
- The incident occurred on February 17, 2019; the sentencing was reported on September 16.
- Why
- The court found the girl’s testimony clear and cogent and concluded that the available evidence established the offences.
Prosecution and Court Findings
Defence Arguments
Identification of the accused
Prosecution and Court Findings
The court held that the girl had enough time and opportunity to observe the accused at close range in daylight, making her identification in court valid.
Defence Arguments
The defence argued that no Test Identification Parade had been conducted.
Appropriate punishment
Prosecution and Court Findings
The court rejected probation, saying the public-road assault created fear and insecurity for the child and affected her dignity.
Defence Arguments
The defence sought the accused’s release on probation of good conduct.
Nature of the offence
Prosecution and Court Findings
The court found that physical contact established sexual assault under the POCSO Act, which absorbed the separate sexual-harassment charge.
Defence Arguments
The accused was acquitted of the standalone sexual-harassment charge under Section 12 of the POCSO Act, as well as intentional insult.
Key facts
- Court
- Special POCSO Court, Thane
- Judge
- Special Judge Premal Vithalani
- Main sentence
- Three years’ rigorous imprisonment
- POCSO fine
- Rs 3,000
- Wrongful-restraint sentence
- One month’s simple imprisonment and a Rs 500 fine
- Incident date
- February 17, 2019
- Victim’s age
- 16 years
Quotes
Judge Premal Vithalani
Special Judge presiding over the Thane POCSO court
“The version of the victim is clear and cogent. A 16-year-old girl studying in 11th standard would not falsely implicate the accused at the cost of her own honour and reputation, inviting a stigma and public glare.”
theprint.in
“Such acts of the accused create fear and insecurity in the mind of a child and affect her dignity.”
theprint.in
Sources
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