Man Convicted For Molesting Minor Actress On Flight Moves Bombay HC In Appeal

Vikas Sachdeva, a Mumbai based businessman found guilty of molesting a 17-year-old actress on a flight, by a Special POCSO Court filed an appeal last Thursday against the said judgement sentencing him to three years in prison.

A Special POCSO Court convicted the 41-year-old Vikas Sachdeva under Section 354 (assault or criminal force on woman with an intent to outrage her modesty) of IPC and Section 8 of the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences Act, as the victim was a minor in December 2017, which is when the incident allegedly took place.

However, the Special Court had allowed the accused's plea for bail the same day and suspended the sentence awarded to him, also granting him time for the present appeal.

The actress, who was 17 at the time of the incident, took to social media and spoke about it, she had stated that Sachdeva was "constantly rubbing his foot against her back and neck" while she was trying to sleep in an Air Vistara flight from Delhi to Mumbai. She also added that despite informing the staff in the flight about the incident, they did not help her.

Sachdeva on the other hand, alleges that he was trying to sleep on the flight and that the actress "mistook" it for molestation. In his appeal, Sachdeva denies all allegations against him and states that the trial court had erred in its judgment. He also submits that he had gone to Delhi on a day-long trip to attend a funeral and was very tired, which is why he slept the entire flight with his leg on the armrest.