Bail granted to Hamirpur lawyer for stalking judicial officer; the accused had already served substantial period of his four year sentence in Jail

The Allahabad High Court has granted bail to a lawyer convicted by a trial court and sentenced to four years imprisonment for stalking and harassing a judicial officer.

Justice Ram Manohar Narayan Mishra in his order granted bail to one Mohd Haroon, a convict, after taking into account his incarceration since July 2023 and the likelihood of a delayed decision by the high court in the revision petition filed by Haroon.

The case arose from allegations that Haroon, while practicing in the district court of Hamirpur persistently stalked a judicial officer, passed sexual remarks, and invaded her privacy.

The complainant filed a first information report (FIR) on August 19, 2022 alleging that Haroon’s behavior amounted to harassment under Sections 354 (assault of criminal force to woman with intent to outrage her modesty), 354A(1)(IV) (sexual harassment and punishment for sexual harassment), 354-D (stalking), and 509 (word, gesture or act intended to insult the modesty of a woman) of the Indian Penal Code (IPC).

After trial, the chief judicial magistrate (CJM) at Hamirpur on July 11, 202,3 convicted him and sentenced him to fouyearss’ imprisonment under section 354 IPC along with other offenses. This conviction was later upheld by the additional district and sessions Judge, Hamirpur on January 18, 2024.

Thereafter, he moved the Allahabad High Court by filing a criminal revision plea, which is still pending.

Haroon argued that the prosecution’s case was exaggerated and lacked direct evidence of inappropriate communication. He emphasized that he had apologized to the complainant on multiple occasions but these gestures were misconstrued.

The defense highlighted that Haroon had already served over two years of his sentence, exceeding half of the maximum term. They also pointed to the unlikelihood of an early hearing due to the high court’s backlog of cases.

The state opposed the application, stressing the gravity of the charges and the fact that the complainant was a judicial officer working in the same district. However, the State conceded that Haroon had served a substantial portion of his sentence.

After hearing both sides, the court in its order dated November 12 granted bail to the applicant.