Sexual harassment: man pleads guilty, gets lesser punishment

A 30-year-old man, convicted for sexually harassing a minor girl, has been sentenced to nearly six months in jail, a period he has already spent behind the bars, after he voluntarily pleaded guilty.
Additional Sessions Judge Rajneesh Kumar Gupta released Delhi resident Gopal Kirshan who had been in jail since his arrest on December 24, 2013.
"Keeping in view the nature of the offence and fact that the convict has no past criminal record, he is sentenced to the imprisonment for the period already undergone by him in jail," the court said.
He was convicted under section 12 (sexual harassment) of the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act.

The court also imposed a fine of Rs 500 on the convict.
According to the prosecution, the man had sexually harassed a 15-year-old girl here on the afternoon of December 24 last year.

An FIR was registered on the basis of the girl's statement and Kirshan was arrested the same day.
Later, Kirshan was chargesheeted under the POCSO Act and he voluntarily pleaded guilty.
During the arguments on the quantum of sentence, the convict's counsel had prayed for a lighter punishment and that pleaded that he be released after the period already undergone in jail.
The prosecution, however, had sought maximum punishment of three years, prescribed for the offence, for Kirshan.