A judge has sentenced a shoe salesman to three months' jail for kissing a 16-year-old schoolgirl in the capital, New Delhi.
Judge Ratan Pandey ruled yesterday that Mukesh Kumar, 20, was guilty of kissing the girl against her wishes. 'The accused kissed her not out of love or affection but out of sheer lust', said the judge, justifying the unprecedented conviction.
He was sentenced under section 854 of the Indian Penal Code, which deals with 'outraging a woman's modesty'.
'Lustful men like him must be severely punished for their carnal acts because they have become a menace for girls and young women in public places,' he said.
The judge rejected the claim that the girl loved Kumar but was forced by her parents to bring a false case against him.
Prosecutors said Kumar struck up a conversation with the girl on December 9 outside her house in the capital's Nandagiri area on the pretext of selling her a pair of shoes. He then embraced her and forcibly kissed her several times, the court heard.