Convicted for molesting minor actress, bizman moves high court

After being convicted for molesting a minor actor on a flight, a businessman has approached the Bombay High Court challenging his conviction. The businessman, who has been sentenced to suffer rigorous imprisonment for three years, has also questioned the punishment.

Vikas Sachdev (41), the businessman, who was convicted last month by a sessions court has filed a criminal appeal challenging the conviction and also the punishment. His appeal is likely to be heard by a single-judge bench of the HC in the first week of March.

On January 15, 2020, a sessions court here, had convicted Sachdev for outraging the modesty of the minor girl. He was also convicted under the relevant provisions of the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act. The court had, however, granted him bail and suspended his sentence of three years, giving him time to challenge the verdict before the HC.

Aggrieved by the verdict, Sachdev has approached the HC through his counsel Vivek Arote. He has claimed that the trial court erred in holding him guilty of the alleged act. He has further claimed that his case is not a fit one to convict and impose such harsh punishment.

To buttress his argument, Sachdev has claimed that the victim of the alleged crime failed to identify him as an accused. He has further claimed that he has been falsely implicated in the matter.

Notably, the incident occurred when Sachdev and the victim were both on board of a Delhi to Mumbai flight in December 2017. Both of them were travelling in a domestic flight of Air Vistara.

According to the victim, throughout the journey, Sachdev, who was sitting just behind her, continuously touched her inappropriately. She had narrated her ordeal in a video, she posted on social media site – Instagram. Subsequently, a case was registered against Sachdev and he was arrested by the Mumbai Police.