Man guilty of stalking released on promise of good conduct

The victim’s father approached the police and a non-cognizable offence was filed at D B Marg police station. Express photo by Nirmal Harindran

A METROPOLITAN magistrate recently released a man, who was found guilty of stalking and criminally intimidating a woman to marry him, on probation and on a one-year good behaviour bond. While the prosecution had sought maximum sentence for the man, the court took into account the “profound kindness” shown by the victim’s father in seeking the release of the accused on the bond.

“The father of the informant (victim), by showing his profound kindness, submitted that the accused may be released on bond of good behaviour, as he does not want to spoil his future but he very much wants that the accused should not repeat his conduct…After having given thorough consideration to the facts and circumstances of the case and that there is no record of criminal antecedents of the accused and that he is young in age and may prove to be a good citizen in future, I am inclined to release him on a bond of good behaviour,” the court said.

According to the prosecution, the victim was studying to become a chartered accountant in 2015 and had joined a private class. The accused was her classmate and they had exchanged numbers. The police claimed that the accused then began calling the victim and proposed marriage. She refused his proposal, but he continued to call her and had also threatened her, saying that he will not allow her to take the examination or marry anyone else. The accused had also called at the victim’s landline phone and had spoken to her father. The father told the accused that he should stop troubling the victim. The accused insisted that he wanted to meet the victim’s father and, on the next day, went to her house. The victim’s father again rejected the accused’s proposal to marry his daughter, after which the accused had threatened him.

The victim’s father approached the police and a non-cognizable offence was filed at D B Marg police station. The police had told the accused to stop troubling the victim. Within a month, however, when the victim reached her centre to write the CA examination, a woman approached the victim and said that she was sent by the accused. She told the victim that she should not take the exam and marry the accused instead. The woman tried to run away but was chased by the victim and the security guard of the college. She, however, escaped.

The victim approached the police again and filed an FIR against both the accused and the woman. During the trial, the court ruled that there was not enough evidence against the woman, also observing that the police had not conducted a Test Identification Parade where the witnesses could identify her.

The court, however, found enough evidence against the accused, pronouncing him guilty under charges, including 354 (D) (stalking) and 506 (I) (criminal intimidation). The maximum punishment for stalking is three years as a first offence.