NEW DELHI: A Delhi court has acquitted a youth of the charges of sexually harassing a 16-year-old girl and her elder sister, after they turned hostile regarding the identity of the accused.
Additional Sessions Judge Sanjay Sharma absolved Mohammad Salauddin of the offence of sexual harassment under sections 354A of IPC and section 12 of Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act, saying the material witnesses have failed to identify him as the one who allegedly abused and harassed them.
"As the material witnesses i.e. complainant sisters have not supported the prosecution case on the point of identity of the accused, no fruitful purpose would be served to examine the remaining witnesses, who were either police officials or the doctor concerned and even their unrebutted testimony would not be able to secure the conviction of the accused," the judge said.
According to the prosecution, on April 10, 2013, accused, a Delhi resident, had made explicit sexual gestures and comments at the girls when they were walking to their home. It said that the girls had complained of repeated incidents of harassment by the accused in a drunken condition. However, in their deposition in court, the complainants said they were not sure if it was the accused who had misbehaved with them as they did not remember his face.
They also denied making the allegations before the police, the court noted.