Picture for representational purpose only.

MUMBAI: A petty fight that started over a car parking issue between a man and an airhostess, both residents in a south Mumbai building, recently ended in the conviction of the 31-year-old man who has been sentenced to one year in jail and fined Rs 5,000 on charges of insulting her modesty.

In 2014, the woman, who was on her way to work, had objected to the car of the accused blocking her exit route. In response, he approached her and exclaimed, "You bloody high class person...you and your disgusting family are a nuisance to the whole building".

While convicting the accused, the magistrate court said that in light of the prosecution's evidence, it was proved that the accused infringed on her modesty and his act harmed public morality. "In this case, the accused came near the informant, obstructed and envisioned (sic) her person while she was going to her job. In this way, the prosecution proved that the accused insulted the informant," the magistrate court observed.

Three witnesses deposed in the case-the woman, her father and an investigating police officer.

The vcitim told the court that on September 14, 2014, around 9.45pm, she was waiting for a car to pick her up for work. She said the accused was standing at a distance of 50 metres from her and that the lane was empty and a car was reversing. The woman recalled that her pickup car had arrived and the other car took more than five to 10 minutes to reverse. She submitted that she then asked the person why he was taking 10 minutes to reverse his car. The woman said that on hearing her voice, the accused angrily asked her, "What is your problem, driver is a new person."

The woman said she told the accused that if he could not be polite, he shouldn't speak to her. She said the accused then came and stood to her right and "abused" her by calling her "you bloody high class person". The woman said following this, she took a step back but the accused told her that she and her disgusting family were a nuisance to the whole building and the lane. She said since she was getting late for work, she left in the pickup vehicle.

Recalling the second instance, the woman said that two months later she saw the accused when she was with her parents and sister. The woman said she then confronted him for troubling her and told him that "whenever you talk to any lady, speak politely".

The woman said that she then complained to her father about the accused. She alleged that the accused raised his voice and started walking towards her. She said that she moved back and her father asked him to stop. The woman said the accused threatened her father to do whatever he wanted. She said a friend of the accused who was also there told her sister that if she could get angry, they could get "double angry'.

The friend, who was also booked in the case, was acquitted along with the accused on charges of criminal intimidation.

The accused was convicted under Section 509 of the Indian Penal Code for a word, a gesture or an act intended to insult the modesty of a woman. The section attracts up to one year simple imprisonment or fine or both.

