MUMBAI, May 1 -- A sessions court on Wednesday sentenced a 31-year-old man to five years' rigorous imprisonment for forcibly kissing an eight-year-old girl on the lips in their residential building in July 2022, holding the act to be aggravated sexual assault under the POCSO Act, 2012. The court also imposed a fine of Rs.10,000, observing that the offence was committed by "taking advantage of her tender age and vulnerability" and caused "mental trauma to the victim girl and her parents too". As per the prosecution, the girl was playing outside her home when the accused, who lived in the same building, called her, pulled her by the hand and forcibly kissed her. The child immediately raised an alarm and informed a neighbour, and later her family, after which an FIR was lodged the same night. The court relied on the child's testimony, calling it "clear and cogent", and said it was supported by her statement before a magistrate, the prompt FIR, and the witnesses' accounts. Rejecting the defence claim of false implication due to prior disputes between families, the court said there was no evidence and noted that the accused did not deny being present at the spot. It convicted the man under relevant sections of the POCSO and the IPC Act....