Stranger Grabbing Minor’s Hand Without Consent Amounts to Outraging Modesty: Delhi High Court

The Delhi High Court has held that a stranger grabbing a minor girl's hand without consent constitutes "criminal force" intended to outrage her modesty.

Justice Chandrasekharan Sudha observed that such conduct, occurring at night, is inherently "sexually coloured" and intended to cause fear.

Despite this, the Court upheld the accused's acquittal because a charge under Section 354 IPC was never framed during the trial. The Court noted that while the facts established an offence of outraging modesty, the specific charges of sexual harassment and stalking were not technically made out.

Consequently, the Court declined to disturb the lower court's acquittal.