Chandigarh: Teacher sentenced to 5 years in jail for molesting student

Chandigarh: Judge Dr. Yashika of the Fast Track Special Court has sentenced a government school teacher to five years of rigorous imprisonment for molesting a 12-year-old student in the classroom. The court has also imposed a fine of Rs 50,000 on the convict. Rejecting the teacher’s mercy petition, the court said that such a crime is not against an individual but against the entire society, which shakes the trust of a child’s parents on the teacher. The police had registered an FIR against the accused on November 2, 2022 on the complaint of a seventh class student. The student of Government Model Senior Secondary School, Chandigarh told that after calling her to the class, the class teacher spoke obscenely and touched her inappropriately. Out of fear, she immediately left the class and did not tell anyone anything. After reaching home, the girl told her father about the incident, who decided to lodge a complaint with the police. After investigation, the police filed a chargesheet against the accused under sections 10 and 12 of the POCSO Act and section 354-A of the IPC. Finding a prima facie case, charges were framed against the accused, in which he pleaded innocent and requested for prosecution. The accused’s lawyer argued that the accused has been falsely implicated in this case. At the same time, the public prosecutor argued that the prosecution has proved the case beyond doubt. After hearing the arguments, the court convicted the accused of the charges leveled against him. The court has sentenced the accused to five years of rigorous imprisonment under section 10 of the POCSO Act, three years of rigorous imprisonment under section 354-A and three years of rigorous imprisonment under section 12 of the POCSO Act. All the sentences will run simultaneously.