On Monday, the single-headed bench of the Delhi High Court held that Calling a woman 'gandi aurat' will not amount to the offence of insulting modesty under Section 509 of the Indian Penal Code.

The bench headed by Justice Swarana Kanta Sharma said that word 'Gandi Aurat' read in isolation without context, without any preceding or succeeding words indicating any intent to outrage modesty of a woman will not bring these words within the ambit of Section 509, IPC.

“In this context, the words used, 'Gandi Aurat,' while certainly impolite and offensive, do not rise to the level of criminal intent driven words that would typically provoke shock in a woman so as to be covered in the definition of criminal offence under Section 509 of IPC,” the Court said.

While giving the judgement, the Court said that courts should be gender neutral even when it is dealing with gender specific offences. Irrespective of the gender-specific nature of a law, the judicial duty fundamentally requires unwavering neutrality and impartiality, the single-judge stated.

Pertinently, the Court said that ''Merely because a law is designed to address specific gender related concerns, it should not be misconstrued as being inherently anti-men.''

“In India, the criminal justice system is adversarial in nature. However, it cannot be seen as adversarial between men and women per se. Instead, it should solely revolve around two individuals: one being the complainant and the other being the accused irrespective of the gender, however, at the same time, while adjudicating the cases firmly remembering and appreciating the social context and situation of a particular gender who may be in a lesser advantageous situation than the other,” Justice Sharma observed.

''What constitutes an outrage to modesty can be context-specific, as it depends on societal norms, cultural values, and individual perspectives''

Furthermore, the Court highlighted the importance of striking a delicate balance when interpreting the accused's intention in cases of outraging the modesty of a woman. 

“Precise and context-specific assessments are required to ensure that justice is both fair and accurate. This balanced approach acknowledges the need to protect the rights and dignity of women while also recognizing the complexities and nuances of human behaviour, as well as the importance of considering the specific circumstances and background of each case," the Court said.

Case Brief -

The bench of Justice Sharma made the observations while dealing with a plea filed by a man challenging the orders of a trial court, framing charges against him under Section 509 (words, gesture or act intended to insult the modesty of a woman) of the Indian Penal Code (IPC).

The complainant alleged that the accused was her senior at work and that he used bad language against her when she refused to give him ₹1,000 and called her ‘Gandi Aurat’.

The Court considered the case as well as Section 509 of the IPC and concluded that merely calling a woman ‘Gandi Aurat’ (dirty woman) without there being any contextual words indicating an intent to outrage her modesty will not amount to an offence under Section 509.

Justice Sharma also held the opinion that actions such being discourteous to a woman, without displaying chivalrous behavior, should not fall within the scope of outraging the modesty of a woman as per the legal definition.

The Court, therefore, set aside the trial court order.

Advocate KC Mittal, Yugansh Mittal and Vaibhav Yadav appeared for the petitioner.

Additional Public Prosecutor(APP) Manoj Pant represented the Delhi Police.

Advocates Ajit Kumar, Nutan Kumari, Nikita Sharma and Alok Kumar appeared for the complainant.