A Court in Lucknow recently sentenced a lawyer, Abhay Pratap, to three years imprisonment and fined him ₹61,000 for sending obscene messages to a female judicial officer [State of U.P V/s Abhay Pratap]..Special Chief Judicial Magistrate (Custom) convicted Pratap under Sections 354 (assault or criminal force to woman with intent to outrage her modesty), 354 D (stalking) 506 (criminal intimidation), 352 (punishment for assault or criminal force otherwise than on grave provocation) and 353 (assault or criminal force to deter public servant from discharge of his duty) of Indian Penal Code (IPC) and Section 67 (publishing or transmitting obscene material in electronic form) of the Information Technology Act.The Court highlighted the impact of the accused's actions on the victim's mental state. It also opined that physical contact is not a necessary element for an offence under Section 354 IPC, underscoring that influencing a woman's sense of security or dignity through digital communication or persistent harassment is equally culpable..The victim had filed a police complaint in 2022, accusing the lawyer, who is based in Maharajganj, of stalking and harassment through unsolicited messages on Facebook and inappropriate text messages, including declarations of love. .The harassment was stated to have escalated to physical intimidation, with Pratap allegedly approaching the victim near her court chamber. .During the trial, Pratap denied the allegations, claiming he was falsely implicated due to previous disputes with the victim. He also attempted to question the victim's credibility and raised arguments of procedural lapses in the collection of evidence..However, he was found guilty on all counts."The accused, Abhay Pratap, with the intention of outraging the modesty of the plaintiff, has committed the crime of attacking and using criminal force to scare a public servant from discharging his duty by sending obscene text messages to the plaintiff through electronic messages on Facebook Messenger and CUG mobile, and also attacking and using criminal force with the intention of outraging the modesty of a woman, insulting the modesty of the victim by words, body language etc. and electronically publishing and transmitting obscene material by stalking the victim through the use of internet etc.The crime is of serious nature. The plaintiff is a judicial officer and the accused is a learned advocate. In the opinion of the court, after hearing the evidence of the accused, the accused has been found guilty and it seems justified to punish the accused with a more severe punishment," the Court said in the order available in Hindi.The case was earlier transferred from the Maharajganj district court to the Lucknow district court by the Allahabad High Court..[Read Judgment]
