Bombay HC: Hurling Chit At Married Woman Is Outraging Of Modesty

As a woman, we all at some point or other have faced different forms of eve-teasing – whether it is some random stranger commenting on our figure or randomly shouting ‘I love you’. Having gone through this nearly all our lives, one would think that this will stop when we, the woman, gets married. But guess what? That’s not the case. A recent case at Bombay High Court (HC) ruled out that hurling ‘love’ chit at a married woman is outraging her modesty.

Recently, in a case at the Nagpur Bench of Bombay High Court (HC), a 54-year-old man was fined Rs. 90,000 for throwing ‘love’ chit at a 45-year-old married woman who filed the complaint. Out of the Rs. 90,000 that has to be paid, Rs. 85,000 has to be paid to the survivor as compensation.

The Bombay HC upheld the order that was previously announced by the Akola session court and also stated that a woman’s modesty is her “most precious jewel”  and so there cannot be any “straightjacket formula to ascertain whether it’s outraged.” 

Justice Rohit Deo of the Bombay HC said, “ The complainant is a married woman of 45 years age. The very act of throwing a chit on her person which professes love for her, and which contains poetic verses, albeit extremely, is sufficient to outrage her modesty.”

The Bombay HC judge stated that there was no reason to not believe the married woman’s evidence regarding the fact that the accused threw chit at her containing objectionable material. The judge stated that the accused had outraged her modesty by flirting with her, occasionally making perverted gestures – like pouting of lips, and even throwing small pebbles at her.

The case was filed after the incident that took place on October 3rd, 2011. The accused, who is the owner of a neighboring grocery shop, approached the married woman when she was washing utensils and gave her a chit. When the complainant refused to accept the chit that contained obscene material, he threw the chit at her and muttered ‘I love you’ before coming back the next day to warn her to not share the contents of the chit with anyone else. The Bombay HC ruled that such an act is outraging the married woman’s modesty.

After the incident, the woman lodged a complaint against the accused under Sections 354, 509, and 506 of IPC and he was prisoned for two years and was fined Rs. 40,000 (out of which Rs. 35,000 is to be paid to the woman as compensation) on 21st July 2018. The accused man later challenged this verdict on the basis that the married woman had filed a false complaint against him. But Justice Rohit Deo of Bombay HC struck down his petition and observed that the man should be given a chance to reform himself.

Justice Rohit Deo of Bombay HC not only set him off from his remaining period sentence but also increased the fine amount to Rs. 90,000. He also asked that the accused man should pay the fine amount within the next 15 days. The judge further added, “He shall file an affidavit of compliance in the registry. The trial magistrate shall ensure that the survivor is made aware of this judgment and the enhanced fine is duly paid to her. If due to death or any other reason, she is not available, then it should be paid to her legal heirs.” 

The Bombay HC’s ruling is hope for all the women out there – married or unmarried – that if they have been victims of eve-teasing of any form, then the judicial system will bring you justice. And I for one am extremely happy about this ruling. There are women who on a daily basis are victims of such incidents and now they can approach a court to put forth their issues and find justice.