Sarvjeet Singh was accused of making indecent gestures and obscene remarks Sarvjeet Singh was accused of making indecent gestures and obscene remarks

FOUR years after he was accused of making obscene comments and gestures by a Delhi University student, a 30-year-old man has been acquitted by a Delhi court.In August 2015, Sarvjeet Singh was arrested by the Delhi Police after the woman’s Facebook post — accusing him of making indecent gestures and obscene comments at a traffic junction in Tilak Nagar — accompanied by his photo went viral on social media. He was accused of being a “creep” who issued threats to the woman in front of a crowd when she tried to call police.

Acquitting Singh under IPC sections 354-(A), 506 and 509, Metropolitan Magistrate Sonam Gupta observed, “Indisputably, a conviction on the sole testimony of the prosecutrix can be sustained. However, in the present case, the complainant has made material improvements in her statements. In view of the same, the testimony of the complainant is not trustworthy…”

Speaking to The Indian Express, Singh said: “I was branded a harasser; everyone knew my face. My father had a heart attack after I was arrested but he survived. These five years have been difficult… When the judge pronounced the verdict, I cried.”

Post the incident, Singh said he was fired from his post as a supervisor at a private firm, and subjected to taunts when he was rehired. He had to change jobs often, and was fired once for taking several leaves to attend court.

The prosecution had relied on the complainant’s statement, and the witnesses were cops. The Delhi Police counsel had argued that all the witnesses have supported the case and, therefore, Singh must be convicted.

Singh’s counsel Amish Aggarwal pointed out that the incident took place in the middle of the road, but no one from the spot was cited as a witness. Instead of talking to the police, the present case was filed by the complainant to gain publicity on social media, said the counsel. The court agreed with Aggarwal’s argument and said, “No public witnesses were examined in the present case and non-examination of eyewitnesses, who could have supported the case of the prosecution, casts a serious doubt on the case of the prosecution… when the version of the complainant is itself doubtful.”

Singh said he is considering legal action against the woman.

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