RAIPUR: Is saying ‘I Love You’ to a girl publicly amount to sexual assault? It’s not, going by the judgment of the Chhattisgarh High Court.The court pronounced the verdict while considering an appeal against a lower court order on July 24. It dismissed all charges against an accused, who was booked for stalking, insulting the modesty and sexual assault, along with the provisions of SC/ST (Prevention of Atrocities) Act. The court said merely saying ‘I Love You’ to a girl publicly would not amount to sexual assault.Earlier, a trial court, after examining the prosecution’s evidence, held that the accused was not involved in the alleged crime, following which an appeal was filed in the High Court.On October 14, 2019, the accused came across the 15-year-old girl returning home from school with two friends in Kurud, Dhamtari district, about 80 km south of Raipur. He reportedly expressed his ‘fondness’ by saying, “I love you, XXX” (with XXX denoting the girl’s name).The girl then filed a police complaint and the case was registered against the accused under IPC Sections 354-D (stalking), 509 (insulting the modesty), Section 8 of POCSO Act (sexual assault) and SC/ST (Prevention of Atrocities) Act.
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