In a possible first-of-its kind case, a 19-year-old boy, charged with outraging the modesty of a girl, has approa-ched the Bombay High Court (HC), pleading that in today’s techno-savvy world, the police and the court should examine social media and apps to check whether a boy and a girl has been in a long-term relationship and should not rely only on the statement of the complainant to draw a conclusion.
The student, hailing from Pune, has moved the HC to quash the complaint against him by his college friend with whom, he claims, he has been in a steady relationship for over two years.
A Division Bench of Justice VM Kanade and Justice Nutan Sardessai withheld the police from framing charges against the accused until further orders. “Considering the age and given that if a criminal case is allowed, it will be a permanent blot on their lives,” the Bench asked the two to consider settling the case.
The boy and the complainant are students of the same college in Pune, and was partying at the city’s Westin Hotel on the night of March 13, when he allegedly touched her inappropriately. The Mundwa police arrested him the next day under Section 354 of the Indian Penal Code and produced him before a magistrate. The magistrate remanded him in police custody for a day.
The boy’s petition said that the complainant and the boy were in a ‘sharing, loving, caring, emotional, physical and intimate’ relationship for over two-and-a-half years. He said the FIR was nothing but an outcome of an affair gone sour.
He prayed that the complaint should be quashed as he is a student and has a long way to go in his career. He also produced photographs of him and the complainant, apart from messages on WhatsApp.
He claimed that the girl filed the complaint after he found her out with other boys and she was trying to get even with him. The HC has posted the case for hearing on December 9.
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