Mumbai Youth Receives One-Year Rigorous Sentence For Pulling A Woman's Dupatta

Mumbai Youth Receives One-Year Rigorous Sentence. A  23-year-old man from Mumbai  has been convicted and sentenced to one-year rigorous imprisonment by a magistrate’s court for pulling a woman’s dupatta in public. The incident took place in 2016 in Mumbai's Chembur area. The court also said it cannot let the accused off on a bond of good behaviour.

Metropolitan magistrate Sharad S Pardeshi said that while no fault lay with the woman, the accused, identified as Abrar Khan, pulled off her dupatta in a public place. The court rejected the convict’s release on a bond of good behaviour and fined Rs 5,000. The Probation of Offenders Act provides for a convict to be released on a bond of good behaviour instead of serving a sentence.

“This conduct of the accused…indicates that he is having errant behaviour with the informant (woman) and if such conduct is viewed leniently by extending the benefit of provisions under Probation of Offenders Act, it will send the wrong message in the society. Any leniency shown to the accused may instigate him to repeat a similar offence against the women,” the court said  TOI reported.

The woman said that on 24 March 2016, she was out with her grandmother for celebrating the Holi festival when the man approached from behind on a motorcycle and started honking loudly. A conflict arose and he started abusing her. The woman was then able to identify the accused and find his details with the help of her husband’s friend who was also present at the scene. They reportedly lived in the same neighborhood.

The court has relied on the woman’s statement, over her friend’s. The friend and another witness deposed in court but claimed that the accused had not pulled on the dupatta, but only argued with the woman, when a dispute arose over his honking. Further, the court relied on the woman’s deposition. It stated “Before the occurrence of the incident, the accused and the informant were not on inimical terms. Thus, the informant had no reason to lodge a false report against the accused. In the circumstances, a false implication of the accused due to some previous grudge is out of the question”.

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