Women who violate a woman’s modesty are guilty under Section 354 of the IPC: Metropolitan Court Mumbai
As the offence under Section 354 falls within the chapter “Criminal Force and Assault,” the Court recognised that it is not a sexual offence and decided that it would apply to both men and women.
A Mumbai court recently declared [State of Maharashtra vs. Rovena @ Aadnya Amit Bhosle] that the offence of outraging a woman’s modesty under Section 354 of the Indian Penal Code (IPC) need not always involve a sexual act and that women might also be found guilty of the offence.
The offence under Section 354 IPC is not a sexual offence because it falls within the chapter “Criminal Force and Assault,” Metropolitan Magistrate MV Chavhan stated.
As a result, the Court determined that either a male or a woman can conduct the crime because any woman can physically harm another woman or use force against them with the intent to offend their modesty.
“Thus, it is evident that both men and women can be charged with the crime of assaulting or using unlawful force against any woman with the intent or knowledge that the lady’s modesty will be offended and they will be punished for the crime under Section 354 IPC. Therefore, Section 354 IPC applies equally to both males and females, and it cannot be argued that women are free from any penalties under this section “said the Court.
It so found a lady guilty of violating the clause and gave her a one-year prison term.
In 2020, a First Information Report (FIR) was filed against the defendant, saying that she had verbally and physically abused the informant and torn her clothes in front of multiple witnesses on the property of their apartment complex.
According to the accused, the FIR was fabricated and deliberately filed to humiliate her. She further denied that there were two witnesses at the scene of the event and the claim that she physically hurt the informant with her footwear. She claimed that the medical examination certificate didn’t list any injuries.
The court stated that the eyewitnesses’ attendance was adequately established and that there didn’t appear to be any justification for them to provide a false deposition because they shared a floor with the parties to the dispute.
Additionally, it claimed that any injury reference on the certificate was meaningless because an ailment brought on by slippers could not have been recorded. However, it determined that because Section 324’s offense—voluntarily inflicting harm with dangerous weapons or methods—contemplates the employment of a deadly weapon, it was not attracted. Instead, the offence under Section 323 IPC (causing harm voluntarily) was established.
Regarding the applicability of Section 354 IPC, the prosecution said that the evidence was substantial and that the accused’s actions plainly met the requirements of the provision.
On the other side, the defence attorney claimed that because both parties were female, there was no motive to offend modesty. As a result, he questioned whether Section 354 could be utilized against the female accused.
According to the court, either a man or a woman who had the required knowledge or purpose would be guilty of the offence under Section 354 IPC.
“Because a woman can assault another woman or use illegal force against another woman just as successfully and equally as a man, and the intention or knowledge that the victimized woman’s modesty will be offended is not a quality that a woman lacks due to her intrinsic distinctions from a male. The pronoun ‘he’ use in the expression ‘that he will thereby outraged her modesty’ must therefore be taken under section 8 of Indian Penal Code as importing a male or a female.” Said the court.
As a result, the Court determined that the accused had violated Sections 323 and 354 of the IPC. She was given a one-year prison term and a $6,000 fine since she had three children, the youngest of whom was only 1.5 years old.
Case Title: State of Maharashtra V. Rovena @ Aadnya Amit Bhosle
Case No. : 7000138/PW/2021
Magistrate: Manoj Vasantrao Chavhan
Date : 22|11|2022
Written by: Lakshman Singh, 3rd Semester, B.B.A LL.B (Hons.), Shri Ramswaroop Memorial University, Lucknow
