Pulling hair, pushing a woman during quarrel does not mean outraging her modesty: Bombay HC

Pulling a woman’s hair or pushing her during a quarrel does not count as outraging her modesty, the Bombay High Court said on Monday (Aug 5)while hearing a petition.

The petition was filed to seek invocation of section 354 (assault or criminal force to woman with intent to outrage her modesty) of the Indian Penal Code (IPC) against five disciples of self-proclaimed godman Dhirendra Shahstra, better-known as Bageshwar Baba.

The division bench of justices Revati Mohite-Dere and Prithviraj Chavan believed that molestation must include an intention to outrage a woman’s modesty and refused to issue orders to book the five disciples – Abhijit Karanjule, Mayuresh Kulkarni, Ishwar Gunjal, Avinash Pandey and Laxman Pant – under IPC section 354.

Add WION as a Preferred Source

What is the case?

As per the petitioner Nitin Upadhyay, the five disciples had allegedly asked him to make a video claiming he had asked for ₹3.5 crore ($416,867.50) from a Rajasthan-based follower of the godman to organise a programme.

Upadhyay was asked to do this after a viral video surfaced online in which the godman allegedly demanded ₹3.5 crore($416,867.50) for organising an event in any state.

Also Read |India: Rekha Sharma steps down after nine-year tenure as NCW chairperson

When Upadhyay refused to make such a video, the disciples allegedly assaulted him and “molested” his wife by pulling her hair and pushing her; they also slapped his minor child. Upadhyaysubsequently complained to Mumbai Police, based on which an offence was registered under section 323 (causing simple hurt) and other relevant sections of the IPC.

The petitioner tried to bolster his case by claiming that his wife was treated badly by the disciples and filed a petition.

What does the court say?

On Monday, the court rejected Upadhyay’s petition, observing that “the woman has to say specifically what was done to outrage her modesty. Merely pulling hair and using criminal force does not mean outraging modesty.”

Also Read |IIT Madras gets historic $271,000 donation from alumnus

The court further said that in all rape cases, survivors usually accuse their perpetrators of “bad behaviour”, but they also explain in detail how this was done. “In this case, she only uses the words ‘bad behaviour’ but there is no explanation at all as to what it means,” the bench said.

The court also expressed satisfaction with the investigating agency for invoking the right sections under the IPC against the accused and refused to take the case any further.

(With inputs from agencies)