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Friday 13 July 2012

Outraging Modesty Of Women

The shocking incident of mass molestation of a girl at Guwahati has seen sharp responses from various corners of the society. Nothing further needs to be said about this incident than bringing the guilty to swift justice so that it deters prospective offenders. In that context I came across a few statements where the common opinion seemed to be that the criminal law, particularly the law against outraging of modesty of women in our country is antiquated and insufficiently written as it dose not cover those myriad situations fearing which females in our country do not feel safe out of their homes.

As a student of law I consider it my duty to inform my eminent readers, especially women, about that particular legal provision which is meant to safeguard their decency and modesty. Its necessary to understand the law as it stands, before we start blaming it as being antiquated or insufficiently drafted and so on and so forth. As citizens not only we must know our laws properly but also guard against mistaken understanding of laws.

Section 354 of IPC is worded as follows :-

Whoever assaults or uses criminal force to any woman, intending to outrage or knowing it to be likely that he will thereby outrage her modesty, shall be punished with imprisonment of either description for a term which may extend to two years, or with fine, or with both.

If you notice, the section includes the terms “criminal force” and “assault”. So to understand properly the import and full scope of Section 354 we have to first understand these two expressions. IPC defines these as follows:-

Section 350 – Criminal force.—Whoever intentionally uses force to any person, without that person’s consent, in order to the committing of any offence, or intending by the use of such force to cause, or knowing it to be likely that by the use of such force he will cause injury, fear or annoyance to the person to whom the force is used, is said to use criminal force to that other.

Section 351. Assault.—Whoever makes any gesture, or any preparation intending or knowing it to be likely that such gesture or preparation will cause any person present to apprehend that he who makes that gesture or preparation is about to use criminal force to that person, is said to commit an assault.
Explanation.—Mere words do not amount to an assault. But the words which a person uses may give to his gestures or preparation such a meaning as may make those gestures or preparations amount to an assault.


Simplistically put, using criminal force is actually making contact, directly or indirectly, with the victim whereas assaulting is by gestures. Hence the offence of outraging modesty is said to be committed either by use of criminal force or by assault. So I guess its clear now how expanded the wording of section 354 (offence against outraging modesty of women) is. Since it not only covers actions involving actual physical contact but also indecent gestures.

So far as the connotation of the expression “outraging modesty of women” is concerned, the Hon’ble Supreme Court has clearly laid down, in the famous case of  Rupan Deol Vs. State (1995) and reiterated it on several subsequent decisions, that  "The ultimate test for ascertaining whether modesty of a woman has been outraged or not is to ascertain whether the action of the offender is such as could be perceived as one which is capable of shocking the sense of decency of woman.” In yet another case of Raju Pandurang Vs. State (2004) the Hon’ble Court defined modesty of women for purpose of Section 354, IPC, as  "womanly propriety of behavior, scrupulous, chastity of thought, speech and conduct. It is the reserve or sense of shame proceeding from instinctive aversion to impure or coarse suggestions.”

Hence taking all the above mentioned facts into consideration a person is said to be guilty of outraging the modesty of a woman if he /she, by his / her gestures or otherwise, outrages or violates the sense of decency or shame of a woman..

It is also relevant in the present context to mention another provision of law which deals with somewhat similar situations. It is Section 509 of IPC which specifically deals with word, gesture or act intended to insult the modesty of a woman. It says that “Whoever, intending to insult the modesty of any woman, utters any word, makes any sound or gesture, or exhibits any object, intending that such word or sound shall be heard, or that such gesture or object shall be seen, by such woman, or intrudes upon the privacy of such woman ; shall be punished with simple imprisonment for a term which may extend to one year, or with fine, or with both.”

But while reading this let's please remember that it’s not the law alone but the effective implementation of it by law enforcing agencies, especially Police, whose task it is to investigate and collect evidence so that the guilty could be punished, that actually matters in bringing about a sound administration of justice. 

42 comments:

  1. thanks for this informative post.
    my son is also doing law from a national law institute.

    bless u

    anu

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    1. You r welcome dear!!!

      Glad to hear that your son is into law. I wish him all the best for his aspirations.

      Thanks for your generous words.

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  2. Yes indeed Anupam! All our well-meaning and soundly drafted laws are set to naught by ineffective implementation!

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    1. So aptly said Suresh ji. Thanks for reading

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  3. Anupam the day this incident took place I was in Guwahati..the place is just about 400 meters from my parents house..It was a shocking incident..it was shocking not because it happened but because no body came forward to rescue the girl..she was molested by a group of drunkards for about one hour..the video was so shocking n the person whoever was shooting the incident should hv tried to stop it instead of shooting it..the incident took place in the heart of the city and that to at around 9.45pm..was it so late????dont want to comment any more but just want to say that day by day people are becoming inhuman..the guys who were involved surely hv sisters and mother at home..did they never thought of them even once..its disgusting..the law should b such that the culprits should be hanged..sorry to say but the law of our country has many loop holes and there is no security for common man..It is very shocking to see the callousness of my native people..

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    1. You are so right. Its always about the attitude of the people. Law cannot be of much help if the attitude of people does not change for the better.

      I totally agree that the persons watching this hapless girl's misery are equally tp be blamed for having stood there like muted imbeciles. Let's also not forget that the persons who were doing this are neither reported to be criminals or hooligans. They are ordinary people. One wonders what could have stopped the by standers from intervening.

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  4. I don't think I grasped as much as I should have from this post because of my negligence in recognizing the precision of terms used for each law. My fault. But however much I have read from your blog, I feel very proud of you Anupam. Bringing justice to those in need is another thing, but educating and spreading awareness is of utter importance in bringing change. Well done :) This one's gonna take another read from me, lol.

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    1. Thank you for your kind words of encouragement, Rehya. I'm glad you read the post. You'll catch up the next time you read. I'm sure.

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  5. Informative. Kudos for sharing this!

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  6. Thanks for sharing, Anupam. Bless you, and other good men who think like you.

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  7. Its good to share what the law says but does anyone make it work, anyone who can find a loophole or get away with anything WILL get away with it .. I am sure we have all got someone that we know who has GOT away with something even if it is a small thing as a traffic ticket ..

    Law is there for everything but its the people implementing and those its implemented on .. THey dont give a DAMN

    Bikram's - Open letter to all

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    1. When people will start asking uncomfortable questions to the authorities regarding their duty, I guess that will be a huge step towards bringing in a change. Because those in power who are corrupt usually think that the public is ignorant and they know nothing. So atleast some awareness regarding certain basic laws will help the citizens in that direction.

      However I agree when you say that the attitude of people is of far greater significance than just the law itself. It's implementation is of vital importance.

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  8. Very sad that this has happened. Its not on.

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  9. In a country like ours, sadly laws exist perhaps only in the books. Practically they simply seem to vanish in thin air!

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  11. amazing post!!!! I needed this! I blogged on similar lines. Its a shame to walk around today as a guy and being looked at by women as a potential threat.
    http://www.lifeaskrishna.com/169/ hope to share a lot.
    This is a serious issue

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  12. Neither the law nor the police ---it is a question of our attitude ----nothing positive can happen untill we change our attitude --

    thanks for this post

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    1. I couldn't have agreed with you more Rajni. No deal of laws or Policing can make it safer for us than bringing about a change in our attitudes first.

      Thanks for reading Rajni

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  13. Good work Anupam. Its good to know the legal views as well rather than being just emotional .

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    1. Thanks TTT. I'm glad you find this worthwhile.

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  14. Surely, the victim as well as the criminal(s) were aware of these laws. The police is aware of the law. The country is. But where is Enforcement?

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    1. I understand the point that you've made regarding enforcement. See the thing is, that nobody can guarantee the non violation of any particular law, since it largely depends on the attitude of us people. No degree of preventive measures can absolutely guarantee that no law will ever be broken. But after a law is broken, the responsibility to vindicate that violation, lies jointly on the Police, the Courts, and the civilians (the victim and the witnesses) who have to testify in a Court without fear or favour against the offenders, for them to be punished. While there have been many cases where the Police is alleged to have destroyed the case in the stage of investigation and there are also many cases which though have been fairly investigated into by Police but due to reasons well known to all the key witnesses have not told the truth to the Court and the accused persons have been let off. So we'll have to wait and see to what extent each of these persons fulfill their obligation towards a fair administration of justice in the Guwahati case.

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    2. Waiting with a lot of expectation and faith. Let's hope a precedent is set so that tomorrow, no one doubts the Indian judiciary.

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    3. Again, ....the judiciary is only as effective as are the investigative machinery and the honesty of witnesses. Fortunately / unfortunately, the judiciary cannot punish somebody based on media reports. So the witnesses who have seen the incident, including the victim herself have to go and identify the criminals, withstand the grueling cross examination by the lawyers of the accused persons and speak clearly and firmly, the truth. Then nobody can save the criminals. Once all the witnesses have testified against the accused persons, even if the first Court somehow (very less likely for this to happen) considers them to be innocent, they will still be thrown to jail by a higher Court upon appeal.

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    4. But in this case, the video is the prime evidence, won't that count?

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    6. It'll count very well. It could be even decisive. Just that the Court will need the testimony of somebody from the Forensic Deptt. that the particular video sample which is furnished before it, has not been tampered with in any manner. But it is also likely that the Court will require the victim and a few other witnesses (if the victim's evidence is strong and unimpeachable then it alone will do) to identify the accused persons in Court.

      The only thing to pray for is the time which the trial will take to finish. Since. the Courts are overburdened with work and under staffed. The Govt. will do well in giving this case to a fast track Court.

      Your curiosity regarding the legal process is admirable. Why don't you read these. It may help you go gain some perspective.

      http://anupampatracontemplates.blogspot.in/2012/05/conversation-ii.html

      http://anupampatracontemplates.blogspot.in/2012/05/conversation-iii.html

      http://anupampatracontemplates.blogspot.in/2012/05/conversation-iv.html

      Bookmark 'em and read them at leisure. Please don't breeze past 'em.

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    7. Absolutely! Thanks for satisfying my curiosity :)

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  15. Seems like i gonna be expert in law(and a good citizen) if i follow you strictly ...Good one, yet again...

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    1. Dear Guru,

      The law is often said to be nothing but strong conscience / common sense codified. If your conscience says that a particular thing is not right, you'll ultimately discover that some law somewhere must have banned it. Likewise if your inner voice tells you that something seems to be the right thing to do you'll eventually find that the law also supports it.

      So you see, if you are good at heart and deeds, you are already a good citizen and to your joy you'll find the law is on your side too, without even having to study the law.


      Thanks for reading and offering your kind appreciation.

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  16. As far as I think that this incident was enough for making our country feel shame. This was really a very disgusting activity which had happened in our country.

    Brother really you had spread a message which should be spreaded to as much people as possible via internet.

    me too is having a blog on supporting topics like you I think that you will also feel interest in it.
    theindependentindia

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    1. Thanks for reading Mitesh and for your kind words

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  17. Thanks for the informative post. unfortunately no body seems to be implementing these laws swiftly enough to actually be a deterrent to crime... unfortunate turn of events for this country. maybe the lawlessness is a wake up call to everyone to finally now start revolting.

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    1. I agree Aparna that laws aren't as swiftly implemented as they ought to be. As I have mentioned earlier, the responsibility to vindicate the violation of any law, lies jointly on the Police, the Courts, and the civilians (the victim and the witnesses) who have to testify in a Court without fear or favour against the offenders, for them to be punished. While there have been many cases where the Police is alleged to have destroyed the case in the stage of investigation and there are also many cases which though have been fairly investigated into by Police but due to reasons well known to all the key witnesses have not told the truth to the Court and the accused persons have been let off. So we'll have to wait and see to what extent each of these persons fulfill their obligation towards a fair administration of justice in the Guwahati case.

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  18. It's really nice to see a man sharing information for the benefit and safety of women.Thanks for sharing this post Anupam :).

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    1. Thanks Diana. That's the least I could do to uphold the sense of equality and equal protection to which women are entitled to, as men are.

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  19. Outrageous & Criminal activities of Tamilnadu Electricity board Officials web video link. http://youtu.be/ZnuwctYSpls
    Dear Sir,

    On 08/05/2012, some employees of Tamilnadu Electricity board including J.E / A.E (Section: Chatrapatti Phone: 04563-258852 Rajapalayam Division: 04563-235864, Virudhunagar District, Tamilnadu-626102, India), have damaged / broken my / public footpath. It is violation of PART IVA, Article 51A- Fundamental Duties of Indian Constitution (It shall be the duty of every citizens of India- to safeguard public property and to abjure violence). Government officials must follow rules and should have consciousness about rules more than common people. http://www.flickr.com/photos/82817574@N05/7590081392 Also, they have involved in some outrageous activities. The derails are in the below web video link. http://youtu.be/ZnuwctYSpls A petition / grievance related to this issue have been submitted to National Commission for Women, Tamilnadu Chief Minister Special cell, Tamilnadu Electricity Board Higher Authorities, Virudhunagar District Collector, and Superintendent of Police but, No action against these officials so far.

    They came to my home, made unlawful assembly on duty hours, broke foot path / damaged public properties, tried to assault, made life threatening activities, made vulgarity nuisances, abusive words, outraged modesty of women, got bribe and went. Home is the safest place for everyone. Government servants came to my home & tried to assault us. If there is no safety at home, where is the safety place for women? Is there no security for women in India?

    I felt shame after this incident and afraid to go outside of my home and got medical treatment for mentally depressed condition due to this incident. We have tried to Protest these illegal activities upto to the extent possible and such actions will attract self / private defense of Indian Penal Code.

    Government officials involving in criminal activities are SHAME and not taking action against such officials is MORE SHAME. These outrageous / illegal / criminal activities of TNEB officials will lead them to unfit for service. They must be punished. No one is beyond law. SPREADING THIS MESSAGE / VIDEO ABOUT THE OUTRAGEOUS ACTIVITIES OF THESE OFFICIALS TO EVERY ONE IS THE BEST PUNISHMENT FOR THESE OFFICIALS.

    I request everyone to take up this case with court / concerned authorities / women commission to take stern action against these officials and prevent criminal activities against women.

    Mrs. G.Subbulakshmi,
    130/15, High School Street, Chatrapatty (post)
    Rajapalayam–626102, Tamilnadu.
    Email: sankarg4@yahoo.com Mobile: 9344643384.

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