Bombay High Court's Nagpur bench has held that following a girl just once, does not amount to stalking, as prescribed under Section 354(D) of the Indian Penal Code (IPC) and the provisions under the Protection Of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act.
“It is to be noted that in order to attract the offence of stalking, the prosecution must prove that the accused repeatedly or constantly followed, watched or contacted a child either directly or through electronic, digital media," read Bombay High Court's judgement, reported legal news agency Live Law.
The judgement added that a “solitary instance of stalking” does not constitute the offence of stalking.
Justice Govind Sanap declared the verdict on December 5, 2024, while hearing pleas involving two 19-year-old boys accused of sexual harassment and stalking a 14-year-old girl.
What was the ‘stalking’ case
The Bombay High Court's judgement came on December 5, 2024. According to Live Law, the primary or the first accused had followed the minor girl and had expressed his desire to marry her in January 2020. Despite the girl's repeated rejections, the 19-year-old boy continued to harass the girl.
Later, the primary accused trespassed into the girl’s house and forced himself upon her by gagging her mouth and touching her breasts. The second accused was allegedly standing outside the house during the incident, added Live Law.
Justice Govind Sanap noted that the victim in her testimony did not attribute any specific role to the second accused in the case. It noted that the second accused ‘merely accompanied' the first boy and followed the victim when she went to fetch water from the well.
The trial court had convicted both the boys on multiple charges under the IPC and POCSO. Upon review, the Bombay High Court found the first accused guilty of sexually assaulting the victim when he trespassed the victim’s house. He was, however, not convicted of stalking as the court opined that the accused followed the victim only once.
