OUTRAGING MODESTY

Explain in detail the offence of outraging the modesty of woman given under section 354 of Indian Penal Code, 1860.

The main aim of the Indian Constitution is to achieve fraternity and the same can be achieved by promoting the feeling of brotherhood and equality is one of the means to promote the feeling of brotherhood. Article 14 of the Indian Constitution deals with the provisions of equality and according to this Article, every person should be treated equally and there should not be any discrimination on the ground of sex. The main aim of this article is to bring equality among men and women and to abolish the offence against women.

But it is also a true fact that we live in a patriarchal society where the position of men is dominant in nature. In our society, great importance is given to the rights of male but we generally ignore the rights given to a woman and we all treat woman like a chattel. Here, women are considered as an object which are meant to satisfy the sexual desires of men. That is why, ‘n’ number of sexual offences are committed against women. So, just to protect the rights and dignity of women, Article 15(3) of Indian Constitution provides power to the government to make special laws for protecting the dignity and rights of women and by exercising the power given by this article, government has enacted various laws and section 354 of Indian Penal Code, 1860 is one of those provisions.

Section 354 of Indian Penal Code, 1860, deals with the provisions of an offence regarding outraging the modesty of woman. According to section 354 of Indian Penal Code, 1860, if any person uses a criminal force against a woman with an intention to outrage the modesty of that woman or with the knowledge that such an act will outrage the modesty of that woman, then in such a case, that accused will be held liable for having committed the offence of outraging the modesty of woman.

According to section 354 of Indian Penal Code, 1860, if any person commits an offence of outraging the modesty of woman, then in such a case, he shall be punished with imprisonment of either description for a term which shall not be less than one year but which may extend to five years and shall also be liable to fine.

According to the provisions of section 354 of Indian Penal Code, 1860, to held an accused liable for having committed the offence of outraging the modesty of woman, it is necessary to prove the ingredients of section 354 which are as follows: –

1. An accused must have used criminal force
2. He must use that criminal force against a woman.
3. He must use the criminal force with an intention to outrage the modesty of woman, or
4. He must use the criminal force with a knowledge that such an act will outrage the modesty of that woman

If prosecution proves all these ingredients, then only he can secure the conviction of an accused.

In the leading case of Rupan Deol Bajaj vs. K.P.S. Gill, (SC 1995), the Hon’ble Supreme Court stated that when an offence is related to the modesty of women, it could not be trivial under any circumstance.

Now, the main question which arises here is, what does the term modesty mean?

Basically, modesty means sexual dignity of a woman which is acquired by her since the time of her birth. It is a virtue attached to a woman owing to her sex. The basic principle of modesty is subjective to every woman because sexual limits of a woman are personal to every woman and there is no straight jacket formula to judge the boundaries of sexual honour of each and every woman.

So, if any person touches the woman physically without her consent which shocks the sense of decency of the woman, then in such a case, it will be considered that such person has committed the offence of outraging the modesty of woman.

In the leading case of State of Punjab vs. Major Singh, (SC 1967), the Hon’ble Supreme Court stated that the essence of a woman’s modesty is her sex and if an act of accused is capable of shocking the sense of decency of the woman, then in such a case, he shall be held liable for having committed the offence of outraging the modesty of woman.

Moreover, the term ‘woman’ has been defined under section 10 of the Indian Penal Code, 1860, and according to this section, ‘woman’ denotes a female human being of any age.

So, according to the provisions of Indian Penal Code, 1860, young or old, intelligent or imbecile, awake or sleeping, every woman possesses modesty capable of being outraged. It means that even a girl who has taken birth recently does also have modesty which could be outraged by a man. This same thing was also stated by the Supreme Court in the leading case of State of Punjab vs. Major Singh (SC 1967).