Mere use of ‘dirty language’ is not enough to register a case of ‘outraging the modesty’ of a woman, Supreme Court ruled.

New Delhi : A female employee is fired from her job by her organization. his/her laptop is taken away. The woman alleges that she was forcibly terminated. his/her laptop which contained his/her intellectual property was confiscated. he/she was thrown out of the office premises by the company’s security guards. Not only this, according to the woman, when she was being terminated, two of her seniors used foul language against her. On her complaint, a case was registered against both the seniors on charges of ‘outraging the modesty’ of the woman. The accused went to the High Court but did not get relief. Then they reached the Supreme Court and finally got a big relief when the top court said that mere use of foul language cannot be sufficient ground to file a case of outraging the modesty of a woman. It is important to have clear intentions. Let us know the whole matter. The Supreme Court recently gave an important order in this matter. he/she made it clear in his/her decision that a case cannot be registered under section 509 of the Indian Penal Code i.e. IPC just by using ‘dirty language’. This section deals with ‘outraging the modesty’ of women.

The Supreme Court said that if the obscene language is not accompanied by any reference or gesture which shows the intention to outrage the modesty of the woman, then this section will not apply. The bench of Justice Dipankar Dutta and Justice Pankaj Kumar Mishra said that the use of the word ‘filthy language’ in itself is not an offense under Section 509. Along with this, it is necessary to have such context, gesture or use of words which proves the intention to outrage the modesty of the woman.

In this case, an FIR was registered against the accused under section 509 of the Indian Penal Code besides sections 323 (intentionally causing hurt), 504 (intentional insult causing breach of peace) and 506 (threatening). The accused had earlier reached Karnataka High Court demanding quashing of the FIR and charge sheet. When the HC refused to quash the FIR and chargesheet, the accused moved the apex court.

Giving great relief to the accused, the Supreme Court not only quashed the offense against them under section 509 of the IPC but also quashed the cases registered against them under sections 323, 504 and 506. That is, an order was given to cancel the FIR lodged against the accused.

The Supreme Court said that the actions of the appellants did not prove that their intention was to outrage the modesty of the woman. The court also said that there is nothing in the complaint lodged by the woman to suggest that the accused used such language which constitutes an offense under Section 509. The court said that although it is alleged in the charge sheet that the accused scolded the complainant using ‘foul language’, there is no mention of this in the FIR.

The top court said, ‘There is no context of the words used, no gesture or use of “foul language” in the complaint; And this is just the allegation in the charge sheet: There are serious concerns about the complainant’s claim of outraging her modesty. In view of the material available on record, we are of the view that prima facie ingredients of the offense under Section 509 of the IPC have not been made out.’

The Supreme Court said that for punishment under Section 323 of the IPC, there must be an act of intentionally causing hurt but that is not the case in this case. Similarly, regarding the allegations of criminal intimidation, the Supreme Court said that it should be proved that the intention of the accused was to intimidate the complainant but this fact also does not exist. The court said in its decision that elements of any of the sections 323, 504, 506 and 509 of the IPC are not present in this case.

Even before, courts have given important decisions in such cases.
Even before this, at different times, courts have given important decisions in such cases. In October 2022, a Delhi court had said in its decision that there is a difference between insulting a woman and outraging her modesty. If someone insults a woman, it does not mean that he/she has violated her modesty. The court had acquitted the person accused under section 509 of the IPC.

Similarly, in August 2023, the Delhi High Court had also said in its order that insulting a woman does not amount to outraging her modesty. In that case, the woman had filed a case against a man under section 509 of the IPC for calling herself a ‘dirty woman’. While acquitting the man, the High Court said that insulting a woman or treating her rudely or indecently will not be considered as violating the modesty of that woman.