RANCHI, July 17 -- The Jharkhand High Court (JHC) has set aside the conviction of a 40-yr-old man under Section 354 of the Indian Penal Code (IPC), ruling that merely making a marriage proposal and catching a person's hand without criminal intent does not satisfy the legal requirements for outraging a woman's modesty.

A high court advocate close to the matter said on Friday, "The single-judge bench of Justice Rajesh Kumar allowed the appeal filed by Budhu Murmu, quashing the August 2023 judgment of a Special POCSO Court in Seraikella Kharsawan that had sentenced him to one year rigorous imprisonment."

The case originated from an incident on June 21, 2017, in Chandil. According to the prosecution, the informant's 10-yr-old daughter was r...