“Deserves sentence not less than life term, but..”: Mumbai court convicts man for winking at woman, touching her hand

A court in Mumbai has convicted a 22-year-old man for winking at a woman and touching her hand but refused to impose any sentence on him considering his age and the fact that he has no criminal antecedents.

The court observed that while the offence committed by the accused, Mohammed Kaif Fakir, deserves a sentence not less than life imprisonment, considering his age and the fact that he has no criminal antecedents, he should be given the benefit of probation.

The court said it couldn't ignore the mental agony and harassment the woman suffered, but imposing a sentence on the accused would affect his future and his image in society.

The court convicted Fakir under section 354 (outraging the modesty of a woman) of the IPC.

The court ordered that Fakir be released after furnishing a bond of Rs 15,000 and directed him to appear before the probation officer as and when called.

As per the complaint lodged in April 2022, the woman had ordered groceries from a local shop, and the accused, who worked at the shop, came to her house to deliver the same.

She said that the accused asked her for a glass of water, and when she was handing it over, he allegedly touched her hand inappropriately and winked at her.

She alleged that he touched her hand for second time while handing over the bag of groceries and again winked at her.

The woman said that when she raised an alarm, the accused ran away. She then told her husband about the incident, and they lodged a police complaint.

The accused claimed that he had touched the woman's hand mistakenly.

The court held that although only the victim and the accused were present at the time of the incident, the evidence and the woman's statement were strong enough to prove the accused's complicity.