“Woman’s Provocative Dress Is Not A Licence To Outrage Her Modesty”, Says Kerala High Court In Sexual Harassment Case. Hear, Hear!
We always hear comments about a woman’s dress and length whenever we hear news of a woman’s modesty being compromised. But when these comments came from the court hearing sexual harassment case, it was truly shocking! This happened with regard to a case where the district session court in Kozhikode, Kerala said that sexual harassment charges do not apply if the woman was wearing a ‘sexually provocative dress’. In what comes as a development in this case, the Kerala High Court has annulled these statements by the district court and instead said that a woman wearing a proactive dress does not give any man the right to lay his hands on her.
As per reports, author Civic Chandran was accused of sexual harassment, and Justice Kauser Edappagath of the Kerala High Court has considered the appeal filed by the complainant and the state government and said that the reason why the lower court granted an anticipatory bail cannot be justified. The Kerala HC disagreed with the lower court’s judgement and said that a woman’s right to wear whatever she wants is a fundamental right and it is granted by the Consitution to her. Therefore, her wearing any kind of dress does not give a man the ‘licence to outrage her modesty’.
But the Kerala High Court has upheld the anticipatory bail granted to Civic Chandran in the sexual harassment case. They have also said that the district court had ‘relied on irrelevant materials’ while granting bail to the accused.
Also read: Kerala Court Justifying Sexual Abuse With Victim’s Dressing Triggers Row, Twitter, DCW Ask “Who Decides Outfit Is ‘Provocative’?”
We’re glad that the Kerala High Court did not agree with the lower court’s comment about a woman’s dress being a justified reason why she was sexually harassed. And this statement came as a shocker because it was a court, a place where people go to seek justice, made it. Court’s decisions on matters such as rape and harassment are set as benchmarks and such regressive remarks will only encourage men to go harass women knowing well that they will not be help culprits.
