Special Court Jails Man Acquitted By Trial Court In Sexual Abuse Case

A special court recently rejected the trial court order to acquit a man and instead sentenced him to three years in jail in a case of sexual abuse. The accused had allegedly harassed and threatened a woman who had rejected his marriage proposal.

"Sexual abuse against women is often a result of unequal power equations, both real and perceived, between men and women. It is also strongly influenced by patriarchal notions of society, which seems to be the reason that the accused was not willing to take a 'no' to his proposal...," said special judge Savita Rao, TOI reported.

However, the man contradicted the complainant's claims and said that they were in a relationship. He also said that she filed the complaint after they broke up.

However, the judge observed that a person cannot harass a woman and threaten to throw acid on her under any circumstances.

"Any past relationship...cannot justify the action of the accused harassing the woman or threatening to throw acid on her if she does not concede to his demands," the court said.

"Taking a lenient view would only be conveying a wrong message to society and to such kind of people...," the special court observed

It added that interpersonal abuse is a key issue in our country. The accused had used criminal force to lower the dignity of the woman. In fact, the court said that he had the audacity to demean her and refuse to accept his mistake.

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"Taking a lenient view would only be conveying a wrong message to society and to such kind of people...," it observed.

The woman had filed the complaint in 2013 when the accused allegedly held her hand without her permission in a public place and threatened to throw acid on her.

The man rejected all claims of the prosecution. He asserted that the complainant and he had been in a relationship for five years.

"The testimony of the complainant has passed the test of credibility...," the court said. Along with three years of jail, the court has imposed Rs 25,000 fine on the man.