Stalking minor girl and expressing love is sexual harassment, rules Bombay HC

In a hearing of a case about a man’s relentless pursuit of a 13-year-old girl out of a love interest, the Nagpur bench of the Bombay High Court ruled that such an act by an adult over a minor girl constitutes sexual harassment under the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act, 2012.

Mituram Dhurve, 28, an Amravati resident, stalked a minor schoolgirl and expressed his love interest to her, desiring that she would eventually give in to his feelings and reciprocate them.

Presiding over the case, which dates back to 2017, Justice Govinda Sanap rejected the accused’s appeal of false implication, stating that “his conduct is sufficient to reflect on his intention”.

Justice Sanap further added that the survivor’s evidence also proves that she was subjected to stalking and sexual harassment by the accused, who is charged directly under Section 11 sub-clause VI of the POCSO Act, 2012.

The court came to the conclusion that Dhurve’s motive was to culminate his acts into a personal relationship with the minor girl, regardless of her disinterest.

As per the case details, in July-August 2017, Dhurve stalked the minor girl outside her school in Warud and followed her in the town on his bike.

On August 19 that year, he confronted her by grabbing her hand, which was met with resistance and a slap from the girl. Thereafter, she reported the incident to her parents, who filed a complaint.

Following this, Dhruve was sentenced to one year in jail under POCSO by the district sessions court. After this, he took up the matter to the HC through a court-appointed counsel and claimed he was falsely implicated in this case.

Dhurve’s plea was rejected by the HC and his conviction was reaffirmed.