The Special Protection of Children against Sexual Assault Offence Act (POCSOA) court while holding a teacher guilty of molestation charges held that the act committed by the accused was a shameful one and to spread the message, he deserves to be punished. The court sentenced the accused to five years of imprisonment along with a fine of Rs 1,000. Meanwhile, the court has also directed the accused to pay an additional amount of Rs 20,000, as a compensatory amount towards the victim.
The court, while passing orders, made some strong observations. The court held, "In Indian culture and societal background, teachers are often called as 'gurus' and are kept on a high pedestal which is at the par with parents. By committing the crime, he has given such a shameful experience to the child and which is unbecoming of a teacher. If such people are not taken to task, then parents, as well as society, will lose faith in teachers and would be scared to engage them for private tuitions. To deter others, more particularly teachers indulging in such criminal activities with a child, strict punishment should be given to the accused."
According to the FIR which was registered in March 2014 with the Versova police station, it said that the accused used to come to the victim's home to take extra tuitions for Mathematics, Physics, and Chemistry. On March 15, 2014, the accused sexually assaulted his pupil during her class. After the assault, she shouted out loud, alerting the teacher who pleaded not to mention it to anyone. Hearing the argument, the child's grandmother, who was in the kitchen, came out to check the situation. However, the accused had fled from the victim's house till then.
If such people are not taken to task, then parents, as well as society, will lose faith in teachers. To deter others, more particularly teachers indulging in such criminal activities with a child, strict punishment should be given to the accused.