A Puducherry court had earlier convicted the man and sentenced him to five years of imprisonment for sexually harassing a minor girl. Challenging the 2023 judgment, the accused filed an appeal before the Madras High Court.

The appeal came up for hearing before Justice Sunder Mohan. The appellant submitted that following a matrimonial dispute and the filing of a divorce petition, the girl's mother had lodged a false complaint with a delay, allegedly as an act of vengeance.

The prosecution argued that a case should not be dismissed merely on the ground of delay in lodging the complaint.

After hearing both sides, the judge observed that the complaint was not filed immediately after the alleged incident but only after notice was issued in the divorce proceedings. Citing this aspect, the court set aside the prison sentence imposed on the father.

The judge further remarked that it was unfortunate that the mother had allegedly instigated her daughter to give false testimony against the father.

The court held that a conviction based on such testimony could not be sustained and recorded this observation in the judgment.