Driver Cleared of Insult, Faces Reduced Sentence for Intimidation

A sessions court acquitted a driver of insulting a woman's modesty but upheld his conviction for criminal intimidation, reducing his sentence. The 2018 altercation at Mumbai Airport involved Yashwant Suranje and a family returning from Hong Kong. The court found insufficient evidence for insulting modesty but found intimidation proven.

A sessions court in Mumbai has acquitted Yashwant Suranje, an Ola driver, of charges accusing him of insulting the modesty of a woman but upheld his criminal intimidation conviction in a case dating back to 2018.

The incident occurred during a late-night confrontation at Mumbai International Airport between Suranje and a family returning from Hong Kong. Initially, a magistrate court had convicted Suranje under sections 509, 506, and 504 of the IPC.

The sessions judge determined the prosecution failed to prove the insult charge while upholding the intimidation conviction but reduced the driver's sentence, citing harshness in the initial verdict.