The Delhi High Court in case titled Varun Bhatia v State and Another, ruled that calling a woman ‘gandi aurat’ or being rude to her will not attract an offence under section 509 of the Indian Penal Code (IPC).
The Court emphasized that the word ‘Gandi Aurat’ read in isolation, without context, without preceding or succeeding words indicating any intent to outrage modesty of a woman, will not bring these words within the ambit of Section 509 of IPC.
The High Court emphasized that courts should be gender neutral even when dealing with gender-specific offences, and merely because a law is designed to address specific gender-related concerns, it should not be misconstrued against other gender.
The judicial duty fundamentally requires unwavering neutrality and impartiality, and the judge’s role is to objectively interpret and apply the law, free from any form of gender bias or predisposition.
The court also dealt with the issue of ‘outraging modesty of a woman’ and concluded that what constitutes an outrage to modesty can be context-specific, and depends on societal norms, cultural values, and individual perspectives. Instead of automatically presuming the existence of the intention without considering multifaceted elements thoroughly is inappropriate; the court must draw a delicate balance while constructing the intention of the accused under Section 509 of IPC.
Justice Sharma made the observations while dealing with a plea filed by a man challenging a trial court order framing charges against him under Section 509 of IPC. The complainant alleged that the accused was her senior at work, and he called her ‘Gandi Aurat’ upon her refusal to give him ₹1,000.
The court considered the case and Section 509 of the IPC and ruled that calling a woman ‘Gandi Aurat’ without contextual words indicating an intent to outrage her modesty does not constitute an offense under Section 509 of IPC. Moreover, insulting or being rude or not behaving in a chivalrous manner is not covered under the definition of outraging a woman’s modesty; and set aside the trial court’s order.
Written by- Apoorva Chandra of Aligarh Muslim University Centre, Malappuram (3rd sem ).An intern under Legal Vidhiya
