The Nagpur bench of the Bombay High Court has acquitted a 35-year-old man who was convicted in 2017 under charges of molesting a minor girl, observing that merely saying “I love you” does not amount to sexual intent.
Justice Urmila Joshi-Phalke, delivering the judgment on Monday, stated that expressing the words “I love you” is simply a declaration of feelings and, in the absence of other explicit conduct, does not fall under the purview of molestation or sexual harassment as defined by law.
The case dates back to 2015, when the accused allegedly stopped a 17-year-old girl in Nagpur while she was returning from school, held her hand, asked her name, and said “I love you.” The girl later informed her father, following which a First Information Report (FIR) was lodged. In 2017, a sessions court in Nagpur convicted the man under relevant sections of the Indian Penal Code (IPC) and the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act, sentencing him to three years in prison.
However, the High Court overturned the conviction, stating that there was no evidence to indicate the accused had sexual intent or aimed to establish sexual contact with the minor. “Words expressed ‘I love you’ would not by itself amount to sexual intent as contemplated by the legislature,” the court noted.
The bench clarified that sexual offences require actions such as inappropriate touching, forcible disrobing, or indecent gestures made with the intent to insult the modesty of a woman. In this case, the court found no supporting evidence suggesting that the accused intended to initiate any sexual act.
“There should be something more to suggest that the real intention behind saying ‘I love you’ was to drag the angle of sex,” the order stated, adding that merely expressing affection or feelings does not fulfill the legal criteria of sexual intent under IPC or POCSO provisions.
The judgment reaffirms the need for clear evidence of intent in sexual offence cases, especially those involving minors, and emphasizes the importance of distinguishing between expression of emotions and criminal behaviour.
