The Bombay High Court's Nagpur bench quashed an FIR against five persons who were booked for watching an allegedly obscene performance by women and showering them with dummy currency notes at a resort in Nagpur, observed that "wearing short skirts, dancing provocatively or making gestures cannot be considered obscene acts per se under Section 294 of the Indian Penal Code (IPC) which punishes such acts."
According to the Bar and Bench, the division bench of Justices Vinay Joshi and Valmiki Sa Menezes expressed an awareness of the prevailing moral standards in contemporary Indian society. However, they emphasized that it has become increasingly common and socially acceptable for women to wear swimwear or revealing clothing.
Wearing short skirts, dancing provocatively cannot be termed obscene act
“We are of the considered opinion that the acts referred in the complaint/FIR, namely wearing short skirts, dancing provocatively or making gestures that the police officials consider obscene cannot be termed to be per se obscene acts, which could cause annoyance to any member of the public," the Ccurt noted.
The court also mentioned that a police officer might have a personal opinion deeming such acts as obscene but it would be retrograde if the court adopted a narrow perspective regarding what could be deemed as obscenity. "We prefer taking a progressive view in the matter and are unwilling to leave such a decision in the hands of police officials," the bench made it clear.
“We often witness this manner of dress in films that pass censorship or at beauty pageants held in broad public view, without causing annoyance to any audience. Surely the provisions of Section 294 of the Indian Penal Code (IPC) (obscenity) would not apply to this situation. We are unable to countenance a situation where acts such as the ones referred to in the FIR would be judged by a police officer, who in his personal opinion considers them to be obscene acts to cause annoyance to any member of the public. Taking a narrow view as to what acts could constitute an obscenity would be a retrograde act, on our part. We prefer taking a progressive view on the matter and are unwilling to leave such a decision in the hands of police officials,” the court observed.
What prosecution say?
According to the prosecution, during a raid at a banquet hall within the Tiger Paradise Resort and Water Park in Nagpur district's Tirkhura, six women were discovered in the hall, wearing skimpy attire, engaging in provocative dancing, and making explicit gestures.
Moreover, the prosecution claimed that the customers were actively involved in the dance, with some of them tossing fake currency notes at the women. This was presented as the basis for lodging the First Information Report (FIR) under Section 294 (pertaining to obscene acts and songs in public) of the Indian Penal Code (IPC). Five of the customers who were charged in the case filed a petition with the Court requesting the FIR to be nullified.
The Court emphasised that the FIR did not contain any accusations against the five applicants, suggesting that they had indulged in any acts of obscenity or committed obscene acts that caused annoyance to members of the public. “There is no fact stated in the complaint that any specific person felt a sense of annoyance. Consequently, we hold that the ingredients of an offence under section 294 are not made out in the FIR/ complaint,” the Court held, while quashing the FIR.
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