Man Sentenced To One Month In Jail For Holding Underaged Cousin's Hand, Proposing To Her

A man has been sentenced to one-month imprisonment for allegedly forcibly holding his minor cousin’s hand, some 13 years ago, and asking her to marry him. The bizarre incident reportedly happened in Bhandup, Mumbai, Maharashtra, India.

The underage girl, who was 16 years old at the time of the incident, reportedly filed a police complaint against her cousin at the Bhandup Police Station on Feb. 2, 2009. In her complaint, she stated that her cousin had gripped her hand and asked her to marry him while she was returning home from school.

In addition to this, she also claimed that her cousin pulled her, and asked her to come to his home. When her sister rushed to the scene to save her from the situation, he allegedly slapped the sister as well, the Free Press Journal reported.

The 43-year-old suspect was recently sentenced to a month of jail and ordered to pay a fine of US$12 (1000 Indian Rupees) by a magistrate court in Mulund, Mumbai, who stated that even though he was a relative of the woman, he had no right to touch her body without her consent.

According to Metropolitan Magistrate RD Dange, since the victim testified that she had felt insulted and ashamed as a result of the accused's behavior, it may be claimed that he offended her modesty.

Meanwhile, the accused's attorney pleaded against the verdict in accordance with the Probation of Offenders Act and asked that the suspect be released on a bond of good behavior.

However, given the nature of the offense, under Section 354 (using criminal force in a way that is intended to offend a lady's modesty), the victim's age at the time of the offense, and the ongoing nature of the other complaints that the victim had lodged against the accused, it was concluded that this case did not qualify for the Probation of Offenders Act's benefits.

Despite this, the man has been cleared of a second offense under Section 323 of the Indian Penal Code (causing harm voluntarily) that the victim lodged against him. According to the court, he was cleared of the offense as the court did not find the testimony of the victim and her sister to be credible.