Saying 'I love you' is expression of feelings, need not have sexual intent: Bombay HC
Mumbai (PTI): Saying 'I love you' is only an expression of feelings and does not in itself amount to "sexual intent", the Bombay High Court's Nagpur bench has said acquitting a 35-year-old man accused of molesting a teenage girl in 2015.
Any sexual act includes inappropriate touching, forcible disrobing, indecent gestures or remarks made with an intent to insult the modesty of a woman, a bench of Justice Urmila Joshi-Phalke said in the order passed on Monday.
As per the complaint, the man had accosted the 17-year-old victim in Nagpur, held her hand and said 'I love you'.
A sessions court in Nagpur had convicted him under relevant sections of the Indian Penal Code and the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act in 2017 and sentenced him to three years' imprisonment.
The HC quashed the man's conviction, noting there was no circumstance to indicate his real intention was to establish sexual contact with the victim.
"Words expressed 'I love you' would not by itself amount to sexual intent as contemplated by the legislature," the court said.
There should be something more to suggest that the real intention behind saying 'I love you' was to drag the angle of sex, the HC added.
The prosecution's case is that the man accosted the girl when she was returning home from school, held her hand, asked her name and said "I love you".
The girl managed to leave the place and went home, and told her father about the incident pursuant to which a FIR was lodged.
The high court said the case does not fall under the purview of molestation or sexual harassment.
Any sexual act includes inappropriate touching, forcible disrobing, indecent gestures or remarks made with an intent to insult the modesty of a woman, the court said.
In the present case, there is no evidence that reveals the accused had said 'I love you' with a sexual intent, the HC said.
"If somebody says that he is in love with another person or expresses his feelings that in itself would not amount to an intent showing some sort of sexual intention," the order said.
Let the Truth be known. If you read VB and like VB, please be a VB Supporter and Help us deliver the Truth to one and all.
CPI(M) rebel Kunhikrishnan hopes for 5,000-vote win in Payyanur
Kannur (Kerala) (PTI): CPI(M) rebel candidate V Kunhikrishnan, who contested as a UDF-backed Independent from Payyanur here, on Saturday said he was hoping to win the Assembly election by a margin of 5,000 votes.
Kunhikrishnan was expelled from the CPI(M) earlier this year after raising allegations of corruption in the party’s martyrs’ fund against sitting MLA T I Madhusoodanan.
Speaking to a TV channel, Kunhikrishnan said he had announced his candidature as a mark of protest and not with expectations of victory.
However, he said the situation had changed drastically, with a strong undercurrent within CPI(M) votes favouring him.
"The undercurrent in CPI(M) votes cannot be measured. Now people are giving a response indicating victory with a margin of at least 5,000 votes," he said.
Payyanur is considered a CPI(M) stronghold, and a defeat for Madhusoodanan there would be a major setback for the party.
On political violence in Payyanur, Kunhikrishnan said he had been facing it since filing his nomination.
"The people leading this violence should think about how long they can continue it. It is the police which has to take the initiative to stop this violence as part of maintaining law and order. But the police are not intervening at the required level," he said.
Regarding his political future, Kunhikrishnan said efforts were underway to strengthen Left groups, and discussions were being held across Kerala in that regard.
"After discussing with others, a decision will be taken," he said.
Kunhikrishnan is among six former CPI(M) leaders who either exited the party or were suspended before contesting for the UDF in the April 9 Assembly elections.
Elections to the 140-seat Kerala Assembly were held on April 9, and the counting of votes will be held on May 4.
