Body touch alone not amount to outraging modesty
Physical touch on the body of a female by a male, as part of an altercation, without any intention to outrage her modesty, cannot be termed as an unwelcome and explicit sexual overture. This is what the High Court of Kerala says in Dr P K Baby v State of Kerala [2024:KER:75539].
The court was dealing with a petition filed by an official for quashing an FIR lodged against him by a law student of the Cochin University of Science & Technology,.
FIR alleges outraging modesty by an official
The FIR in this case was lodged against the official under Sections 354 and 354A (1) of the Indian Penal Code (IPC). The allegation was that in the altercation the petitioner got angry and forcefully groped the breast of the de facto complainant who was a stage convenor in a festival in the university.
Facts reveal official was enforcing a rule
The official was enforcing a rule by preventing the complainant from entering the auditorium after 9 PM, when she attempted to move towards the auditorium under the pretext of taking an oil lamp, which ended in the altercation.
Physical touch alone cannot be termed as sexual act
The high court says that the physical contact as part of such resistance could not be held as the one which advanced unwelcome and explicit sexual overtures.
The court found out that the accused had no intention to outrage modesty of the defacto complainant in any manner or to harass her sexually.
Essential ingredients to attract the offences
The court points out that the most essential ingredient to attract an offence under Section 354 of IPC is assault or use of criminal force to any woman with intent to outrage or knowing it to be likely that he will thereby outrage her modesty.
And, to attract an offence under Section 354 A (1) of IPC, there must be unwelcome and sexual overtures of physical contact and advances, demand or request of sexual favours, displaying pornography against women’s will and sexually coloured remarks.
HC quashed the FIR
The High Court quashed the FIR, as there was no ingredient of the offences relating to the incident in the prosecution records.
Test prescribed by the HC in an earlier case
Earlier the High Court in M A Vaheed v K K Lathika And Other Cases the test of outrage of modesty is to be determined by thinking whether a reasonable man will think that the act of the offender was intended to or was known to be likely to outrage the modesty of the woman.
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