MADURAI: Observing that it is natural for two teenage people in love to hug and kiss each other, the Madurai Bench of Madras High Court recently quashed a sexual harassment case registered against a 20-year-old man for refusing the marriage proposal of his lover despite hugging and kissing her.
Justice N Anand Venkatesh passed the order on a petition filed by the man seeking to quash an FIR registered against him by Thoothukudi police in 2022.
The prosecution’s case was that the petitioner and the complainant, who were then 20 and 19 years old respectively, had been in love since 2020. On November 13, 2022, at 9 pm, the petitioner had allegedly invited the complainant to a secluded spot. They were having a conversation till midnight, during which the petitioner had allegedly hugged and kissed the complainant. Following this, the complainant informed her parents about their relationship. She had also asked the petitioner to marry her. However, the petitioner is said to have refused her proposal and had started avoiding her. Due to this, she lodged a police complaint and an FIR was registered against the petitioner under Section 354-A 1) (i) of IPC.
Justice Venkatesh noted that none appeared for the complainant despite the issuance of notice. He observed, “To constitute an offence under Section 354-A (1) (i) of IPC, a man must commit physical contact and make advances involving unwelcome and explicit sexual overtures. Even if the allegations are taken as it is, it is quite natural for two people in their teenage, who are having a love affair, to hug or kiss each other. By no stretch, this can constitute an offence under Section 354-A (1)(i) of IPC."
Thus, he concluded that no offence has been made out against the petitioner and the continuation of criminal proceedings against him would result in abuse of process of law. But, he noted that even though the court, in an earlier hearing, had directed the police not to file a final report in the case, the police had completed their investigation and filed a final report before the Srivaikundam judicial magistrate I and the same has been taken on file. Exercising the court’s powers under Section 482 of CrPC, the judge quashed the criminal proceedings and allowed the petition.