Photographing Woman While She Is Out in Public Not Voyeurism, Says Kerala High Court; Quashes Voyeurism Charge Against Man Accused of Making Sexual Gestures Towards Woman
The high court bench of Justice A Badharudeen further made it clear that only watching or capturing images of a woman involved in a private act in a setting where she expects privacy is punishable. The state's top court observed while hearing a plea by a man named Ajith Pillai, who had sought to quash charges against him.
The Kerala High Court recently said that if a woman is in a public or open area where she would not normally expect complete privacy and someone sees or takes her picture without exposing any of her private parts, it would not amount to the offence of voyeurism. The high court bench of Justice A Badharudeen further made it clear that only watching or capturing images of a woman involved in a private act in a setting where she expects privacy is punishable. The state's top court observed while hearing a plea by a man named Ajith Pillai, who had sought to quash charges under Sections 354 C (voyeurism) and 509 (word, gesture or act intended to insult woman's modesty) of the Indian Penal Code (IPC). In her complaint, a woman had alleged two men (the petitioner and another accused) took photographs of her outside her house and made sexual gestures to insult her modesty in May 2022. The Kerala High Court said that the incident cannot be considered voyeurism as it took place in front of the complainant’s house. The court then quashed the voyeurism charge under Section 354C against the petitioner. Kerala High Court Says Having Sexual Intercourse and Being Naked in Front of a Minor Amounts to Sexual Harassment Under Section 11 of POCSO Act.
HC Hears Plea by Man to Quash Charges Against Him
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