The Bombay High Court has ruled that merely pulling a woman's hair or pushing her during a quarrel does not amount to outraging her modesty, as there must be a clear intention to do so.
In a recent case, the court refused to direct the Mumbai Police to invoke section 354 of the Indian Penal Code (IPC) against five men accused of assaulting a couple. The judges noted that the allegations against the men did not meet the criteria for outraging modesty, as there was no intention to do so.
Key Points:
- Merely pulling hair or pushing a woman during a quarrel does not amount to outraging her modesty.
- There must be a clear intention to outrage modesty.
- Every case of quarrel cannot become an outraging of modesty case.
- The victim must specifically state what was done to outrage her modesty.
Court's Observation:
- "How does criminal force mean outraging modesty... Can mere use of criminal force outrage modesty? Where is the intention?"
- "Pulling hair is not outraging modesty at all. There has to be some intention to outrage the modesty."
- "Suppose if there is a quarrel or a fight, then it is obvious someone will pull hair of the woman or may push her. But that cannot qualify as outraging modesty of the woman."
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