{"id":332923,"date":"2024-10-12T11:00:32","date_gmt":"2024-10-12T05:30:32","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.scconline.com\/blog\/?p=332923"},"modified":"2024-10-17T09:25:45","modified_gmt":"2024-10-17T03:55:45","slug":"referring-woman-prostitut-public-in-her-absence-may-not-constitute-offence-under-s-509-ipc-but-could-other-charges-kerala-hc","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.scconline.com\/blog\/post\/2024\/10\/12\/referring-woman-prostitut-public-in-her-absence-may-not-constitute-offence-under-s-509-ipc-but-could-other-charges-kerala-hc\/","title":{"rendered":"Referring woman as &#8216;prostitute&#8217; in public in her absence may not constitute an offence under S. 509 IPC, but could attract other charges: Kerala HC"},"content":{"rendered":"<div style=\"text-align: justify; line-height: 150%;\">\n<p style=\"margin-bottom: 3%;\"><span style=\"font-weight: bold;\">Kerala High Court:<\/span> In a criminal miscellaneous case filed under Section <a href=\"https:\/\/www.scconline.com\/DocumentLink.aspx?q=JTXT-0001519791\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">482<\/a> of the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.scconline.com\/DocumentLink.aspx?q=JTXT-0002726935\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Code of Criminal Procedure, 1973<\/a> (&#8216;CrPC&#8217;) to quash the proceedings, A. Badharudeen,J. while quashing the proceedings against the accused persons, said that under Section <a href=\"https:\/\/www.scconline.com\/DocumentLink.aspx?q=JTXT-0001561863\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">509<\/a> of the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.scconline.com\/DocumentLink.aspx?q=JTXT-0002726960\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Penal Code, 1860<\/a> (IPC), insulting a woman&#8217;s modesty requires that the act or words must be directed at her in a manner that is intended to insult or offend. If a remark, such as referring to a woman as a &#8220;prostitute,&#8221; is made in a context where the woman is not present, it may not meet the criteria for constituting an offense under this section.<\/p>\n<p style=\"margin-bottom: 3%;\">The prosecution alleged that the accused committed an offence punishable under Section <a href=\"https:\/\/www.scconline.com\/DocumentLink.aspx?q=JTXT-0001561863\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">509<\/a> <a href=\"https:\/\/www.scconline.com\/DocumentLink.aspx?q=JTXT-0002726960\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">IPC<\/a> and the specific allegation is that the accused persons, with intention to insult the modesty of the complainant, made defamatory remarks in and out the premises of the flat building, where the accused and the complainant have been residing, stating that the complainant is a prostitute. Recording the statement of the victim, the crime was registered and investigated. Thereafter, a final report was filed, alleging commission of offence punishable under Section <a href=\"https:\/\/www.scconline.com\/DocumentLink.aspx?q=JTXT-0001561863\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">509<\/a> read with Section <a href=\"https:\/\/www.scconline.com\/DocumentLink.aspx?q=JTXT-0001561652\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">34<\/a> of <a href=\"https:\/\/www.scconline.com\/DocumentLink.aspx?q=JTXT-0002726960\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">IPC<\/a>, for which cognizance also was taken by the Magistrate.<\/p>\n<p style=\"margin-bottom: 3%;\">The accused submitted that even if the words alleged to be stated by the accused are defamatory, the same by itself would not attract offence under Section <a href=\"https:\/\/www.scconline.com\/DocumentLink.aspx?q=JTXT-0001561863\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">509<\/a> of <a href=\"https:\/\/www.scconline.com\/DocumentLink.aspx?q=JTXT-0002726960\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">IPC<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p style=\"margin-bottom: 3%;\">The Court took note of the penal provisions under Section <a href=\"https:\/\/www.scconline.com\/DocumentLink.aspx?q=JTXT-0001561863\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">509<\/a> of <a href=\"https:\/\/www.scconline.com\/DocumentLink.aspx?q=JTXT-0002726960\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">IPC<\/a> and under Section 79 of Nyaya Sanhita, 2023 and the ratio of various decisions, and explained that, for an offence punishable under Section <a href=\"https:\/\/www.scconline.com\/DocumentLink.aspx?q=JTXT-0001561863\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">509<\/a> of <a href=\"https:\/\/www.scconline.com\/DocumentLink.aspx?q=JTXT-0002726960\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">IPC<\/a> or under Section 79 of BNS, the first part is utterance of any word, makes any sound or gesture, or exhibits any object with an intention to insult the modesty of a woman, intending that such word or sound shall be heard, or that such gesture or object shall be seen, by such woman. The second part provides that the above overt acts done with intention to intrude upon the privacy of such a woman.<\/p>\n<p style=\"margin-bottom: 3%;\">The Court concluded that in the present case, the first part of the offence is not at all made out since the complainant has no case that the accused persons used the derogative text directly to her either to be heard or to be seen by her and the allegation is that the accused stated so to the inmates of the flat and nearby shop owners and the complainant has no direct knowledge regarding the same.<\/p>\n<p style=\"margin-bottom: 3%;\">The Court further added that, the second part of S.<a href=\"https:\/\/www.scconline.com\/DocumentLink.aspx?q=JTXT-0001561863\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">509<\/a> of <a href=\"https:\/\/www.scconline.com\/DocumentLink.aspx?q=JTXT-0002726960\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">IPC<\/a> is intruding upon the privacy of a woman. Thus, the question is while referring to the complainant as a prostitute before the inmates of the flat and nearby shop owners, whether the accused persons intruded upon her privacy.<\/p>\n<p style=\"margin-bottom: 3%;\">The Court mentioned that the word &#8220;intrude&#8221; is not defined in IPC. Its dictionary meaning is to put oneself deliberately into a place or situation where one is unwelcome or uninvited. To put it otherwise, intrude means trespass, horn in, pry into or to join in something without invitation or consent to the privacy of the woman.<\/p>\n<p style=\"margin-bottom: 3%;\">The Court highlighted that even though the statement alleged to be spoken by the accused persons was not intending to be heard by the complainant or seen by her, but to third parties, it may attract some other offence, the same itself would not constitute an offence dealt in second part of Section <a href=\"https:\/\/www.scconline.com\/DocumentLink.aspx?q=JTXT-0001561863\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">509<\/a> of <a href=\"https:\/\/www.scconline.com\/DocumentLink.aspx?q=JTXT-0002726960\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">IPC<\/a> prima facie.<\/p>\n<p style=\"margin-bottom: 3%;\">While remarking that this case has emanated from a difference of opinion in a residence association where the complainant and the accused are members, the Court set aside the proceedings.<\/p>\n<p style=\"margin-bottom: 3%;\">[<span style=\"font-weight: bold; color: #632423;\">Anson I.J. v State of Kerala, <a href=\"http:\/\/www.scconline.com\/DocumentLink\/1lB2suM9\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">2024 SCC OnLine Ker 5666<\/a>, decided on 30-09-2024<\/span>]<\/p>\n<hr\/>\n<p>Advocates who appeared in this case :<\/p>\n<p style=\"margin-left: 18pt;\"><span style=\"font-weight: bold;\">For Petitioners:<\/span> John Sebastian Ralph V, Vishnu Chandran, Ralph Reti John, Giridhar Krishna Kumar, Appu Babu, Vishnumaya M.B, Geethu T.A, Apoorva Ramkumar<\/p>\n<p style=\"margin-left: 18pt;\"><span style=\"font-weight: bold;\">For Respondents:<\/span> P.V. Saritha Venugopal, Basil Mathew, SRI. Renjit George, SR. Public Prosecutor<\/p>\n<h3 style=\"color: #000080;\">Buy Code of Criminal Procedure, 1973 &nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/www.ebcwebstore.com\/product_info.php?products_id=1031\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">HERE<\/a><\/h3>\n<p style=\"margin-bottom: 3%;\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.ebcwebstore.com\/product_info.php?products_id=1031\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.scconline.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/06\/code-of-criminal-procedure-300x200.jpg\" alt=\"Code of Criminal Procedure\" width=\"300\" height=\"200\" class=\"aligncenter size-large wp-image-294422\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.scconline.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/06\/code-of-criminal-procedure-300x200.jpg 300w, https:\/\/www.scconline.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/06\/code-of-criminal-procedure-768x511.jpg 768w, https:\/\/www.scconline.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/06\/code-of-criminal-procedure-440x293.jpg 440w, https:\/\/www.scconline.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/06\/code-of-criminal-procedure-650x433.jpg 650w, https:\/\/www.scconline.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/06\/code-of-criminal-procedure.jpg 886w, https:\/\/www.scconline.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/06\/code-of-criminal-procedure-60x40.jpg 60w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 300px) 100vw, 300px\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<h3 style=\"color: #000080;\">Buy Penal Code, 1860 &nbsp; <a href=\"https:\/\/www.ebcwebstore.com\/product_info.php?products_id=1158\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">HERE<\/a><\/h3>\n<p style=\"margin-bottom: 3%;\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.ebcwebstore.com\/product_info.php?products_id=1158\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.scconline.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/06\/penal-code-1860-300x200.jpg\" alt=\"penal code, 1860\" width=\"300\" height=\"200\" class=\"aligncenter size-large wp-image-294601\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.scconline.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/06\/penal-code-1860-300x200.jpg 300w, https:\/\/www.scconline.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/06\/penal-code-1860-768x511.jpg 768w, https:\/\/www.scconline.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/06\/penal-code-1860-440x293.jpg 440w, https:\/\/www.scconline.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/06\/penal-code-1860-650x433.jpg 650w, https:\/\/www.scconline.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/06\/penal-code-1860.jpg 886w, https:\/\/www.scconline.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/06\/penal-code-1860-60x40.jpg 60w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 300px) 100vw, 300px\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p style=\"font-style: italic;\">Kerala High Court mentioned that the word &#8220;intrude&#8221; is not defined in IPC. Its dictionary meaning is to put oneself deliberately into a place or situation where one is unwelcome or uninvited. To put it otherwise, intrude means trespass, horn in, pry into or to join in something without invitation or consent to the privacy of the woman.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":67512,"featured_media":316393,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[3,10],"tags":[70389,32849,13961,2523,60692,31815,39728],"class_list":["post-332923","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-casebriefs","category-highcourts","tag-bns","tag-criminal-offence","tag-ipc","tag-Kerala_High_Court","tag-outraging-the-modesty-of-woman","tag-prostitute","tag-section-509-ipc"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO Premium plugin v26.4 (Yoast SEO v26.4) - https:\/\/yoast.com\/wordpress\/plugins\/seo\/ -->\n<title>Referring woman as &#039;prostitute&#039; in public in her absence may not constitute offence under S. 509 IPC, but could attract other charges: Kerala HC | SCC Times<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Kerala HC ruled that referring a woman as &#039;prostitute&#039; in public in her absence may not constitute offence under S. 509 IPC, but could attract other charges\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.scconline.com\/blog\/post\/2024\/10\/12\/referring-woman-prostitut-public-in-her-absence-may-not-constitute-offence-under-s-509-ipc-but-could-other-charges-kerala-hc\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Referring woman as &#039;prostitute&#039; in public in her absence may not constitute an offence under S. 509 IPC, but could attract other charges: Kerala HC\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Kerala HC ruled that referring a woman as &#039;prostitute&#039; in public in her absence may not constitute offence under S. 509 IPC, but could attract other charges\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.scconline.com\/blog\/post\/2024\/10\/12\/referring-woman-prostitut-public-in-her-absence-may-not-constitute-offence-under-s-509-ipc-but-could-other-charges-kerala-hc\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"SCC Times\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:publisher\" content=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/scc.online\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2024-10-12T05:30:32+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2024-10-17T03:55:45+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/www.scconline.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/03\/Kerala-High-Court-1.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"887\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"591\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Apoorva\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:title\" content=\"Referring woman as &#039;prostitute&#039; in public in her absence may not constitute an offence under S. 509 IPC, but could attract other charges: Kerala HC\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Apoorva\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"4 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.scconline.com\/blog\/post\/2024\/10\/12\/referring-woman-prostitut-public-in-her-absence-may-not-constitute-offence-under-s-509-ipc-but-could-other-charges-kerala-hc\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.scconline.com\/blog\/post\/2024\/10\/12\/referring-woman-prostitut-public-in-her-absence-may-not-constitute-offence-under-s-509-ipc-but-could-other-charges-kerala-hc\/\",\"name\":\"Referring woman as 'prostitute' in public in her absence may not constitute offence under S. 509 IPC, but could attract other charges: Kerala HC | SCC Times\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.scconline.com\/blog\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.scconline.com\/blog\/post\/2024\/10\/12\/referring-woman-prostitut-public-in-her-absence-may-not-constitute-offence-under-s-509-ipc-but-could-other-charges-kerala-hc\/#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.scconline.com\/blog\/post\/2024\/10\/12\/referring-woman-prostitut-public-in-her-absence-may-not-constitute-offence-under-s-509-ipc-but-could-other-charges-kerala-hc\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\/\/www.scconline.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/03\/Kerala-High-Court-1.webp\",\"datePublished\":\"2024-10-12T05:30:32+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2024-10-17T03:55:45+00:00\",\"author\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.scconline.com\/blog\/#\/schema\/person\/288d814d0864b57168e08daa1940a1c9\"},\"description\":\"Kerala HC ruled that referring a woman as 'prostitute' in public in her absence may not constitute offence under S. 509 IPC, but could attract other charges\",\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.scconline.com\/blog\/post\/2024\/10\/12\/referring-woman-prostitut-public-in-her-absence-may-not-constitute-offence-under-s-509-ipc-but-could-other-charges-kerala-hc\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/www.scconline.com\/blog\/post\/2024\/10\/12\/referring-woman-prostitut-public-in-her-absence-may-not-constitute-offence-under-s-509-ipc-but-could-other-charges-kerala-hc\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.scconline.com\/blog\/post\/2024\/10\/12\/referring-woman-prostitut-public-in-her-absence-may-not-constitute-offence-under-s-509-ipc-but-could-other-charges-kerala-hc\/#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.scconline.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/03\/Kerala-High-Court-1.webp\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/www.scconline.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/03\/Kerala-High-Court-1.webp\",\"width\":887,\"height\":591,\"caption\":\"Kerala High Court\"},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.scconline.com\/blog\/post\/2024\/10\/12\/referring-woman-prostitut-public-in-her-absence-may-not-constitute-offence-under-s-509-ipc-but-could-other-charges-kerala-hc\/#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\/\/www.scconline.com\/blog\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"Referring woman as &#8216;prostitute&#8217; in public in her absence may not constitute an offence under S. 509 IPC, but could attract other charges: Kerala HC\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.scconline.com\/blog\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.scconline.com\/blog\/\",\"name\":\"SCC Times\",\"description\":\"Bringing you the Best Analytical Legal News\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\/\/www.scconline.com\/blog\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":{\"@type\":\"PropertyValueSpecification\",\"valueRequired\":true,\"valueName\":\"search_term_string\"}}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.scconline.com\/blog\/#\/schema\/person\/288d814d0864b57168e08daa1940a1c9\",\"name\":\"Apoorva\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.scconline.com\/blog\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/549edb3ed2c7046a0c504583cf71db32c50251c1260a6331b2cc2973e80b0e91?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/549edb3ed2c7046a0c504583cf71db32c50251c1260a6331b2cc2973e80b0e91?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"caption\":\"Apoorva\"},\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.scconline.com\/blog\/post\/author\/scc-editor\/\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO Premium plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"Referring woman as 'prostitute' in public in her absence may not constitute offence under S. 509 IPC, but could attract other charges: Kerala HC | SCC Times","description":"Kerala HC ruled that referring a woman as 'prostitute' in public in her absence may not constitute offence under S. 509 IPC, but could attract other charges","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/www.scconline.com\/blog\/post\/2024\/10\/12\/referring-woman-prostitut-public-in-her-absence-may-not-constitute-offence-under-s-509-ipc-but-could-other-charges-kerala-hc\/","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"Referring woman as 'prostitute' in public in her absence may not constitute an offence under S. 509 IPC, but could attract other charges: Kerala HC","og_description":"Kerala HC ruled that referring a woman as 'prostitute' in public in her absence may not constitute offence under S. 509 IPC, but could attract other charges","og_url":"https:\/\/www.scconline.com\/blog\/post\/2024\/10\/12\/referring-woman-prostitut-public-in-her-absence-may-not-constitute-offence-under-s-509-ipc-but-could-other-charges-kerala-hc\/","og_site_name":"SCC Times","article_publisher":"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/scc.online\/","article_published_time":"2024-10-12T05:30:32+00:00","article_modified_time":"2024-10-17T03:55:45+00:00","og_image":[{"width":887,"height":591,"url":"https:\/\/www.scconline.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/03\/Kerala-High-Court-1.jpg","type":"image\/jpeg"}],"author":"Apoorva","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_title":"Referring woman as 'prostitute' in public in her absence may not constitute an offence under S. 509 IPC, but could attract other charges: Kerala HC","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"Apoorva","Est. reading time":"4 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/www.scconline.com\/blog\/post\/2024\/10\/12\/referring-woman-prostitut-public-in-her-absence-may-not-constitute-offence-under-s-509-ipc-but-could-other-charges-kerala-hc\/","url":"https:\/\/www.scconline.com\/blog\/post\/2024\/10\/12\/referring-woman-prostitut-public-in-her-absence-may-not-constitute-offence-under-s-509-ipc-but-could-other-charges-kerala-hc\/","name":"Referring woman as 'prostitute' in public in her absence may not constitute offence under S. 509 IPC, but could attract other charges: Kerala HC | SCC Times","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.scconline.com\/blog\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.scconline.com\/blog\/post\/2024\/10\/12\/referring-woman-prostitut-public-in-her-absence-may-not-constitute-offence-under-s-509-ipc-but-could-other-charges-kerala-hc\/#primaryimage"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.scconline.com\/blog\/post\/2024\/10\/12\/referring-woman-prostitut-public-in-her-absence-may-not-constitute-offence-under-s-509-ipc-but-could-other-charges-kerala-hc\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/www.scconline.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/03\/Kerala-High-Court-1.webp","datePublished":"2024-10-12T05:30:32+00:00","dateModified":"2024-10-17T03:55:45+00:00","author":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.scconline.com\/blog\/#\/schema\/person\/288d814d0864b57168e08daa1940a1c9"},"description":"Kerala HC ruled that referring a woman as 'prostitute' in public in her absence may not constitute offence under S. 509 IPC, but could attract other charges","breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.scconline.com\/blog\/post\/2024\/10\/12\/referring-woman-prostitut-public-in-her-absence-may-not-constitute-offence-under-s-509-ipc-but-could-other-charges-kerala-hc\/#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/www.scconline.com\/blog\/post\/2024\/10\/12\/referring-woman-prostitut-public-in-her-absence-may-not-constitute-offence-under-s-509-ipc-but-could-other-charges-kerala-hc\/"]}]},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/www.scconline.com\/blog\/post\/2024\/10\/12\/referring-woman-prostitut-public-in-her-absence-may-not-constitute-offence-under-s-509-ipc-but-could-other-charges-kerala-hc\/#primaryimage","url":"https:\/\/www.scconline.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/03\/Kerala-High-Court-1.webp","contentUrl":"https:\/\/www.scconline.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/03\/Kerala-High-Court-1.webp","width":887,"height":591,"caption":"Kerala High Court"},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/www.scconline.com\/blog\/post\/2024\/10\/12\/referring-woman-prostitut-public-in-her-absence-may-not-constitute-offence-under-s-509-ipc-but-could-other-charges-kerala-hc\/#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/www.scconline.com\/blog\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"Referring woman as &#8216;prostitute&#8217; in public in her absence may not constitute an offence under S. 509 IPC, but could attract other charges: Kerala HC"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/www.scconline.com\/blog\/#website","url":"https:\/\/www.scconline.com\/blog\/","name":"SCC Times","description":"Bringing you the Best Analytical Legal News","potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/www.scconline.com\/blog\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/www.scconline.com\/blog\/#\/schema\/person\/288d814d0864b57168e08daa1940a1c9","name":"Apoorva","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/www.scconline.com\/blog\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/549edb3ed2c7046a0c504583cf71db32c50251c1260a6331b2cc2973e80b0e91?s=96&d=mm&r=g","contentUrl":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/549edb3ed2c7046a0c504583cf71db32c50251c1260a6331b2cc2973e80b0e91?s=96&d=mm&r=g","caption":"Apoorva"},"url":"https:\/\/www.scconline.com\/blog\/post\/author\/scc-editor\/"}]}},"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/www.scconline.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/03\/Kerala-High-Court-1.webp","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":334578,"url":"https:\/\/www.scconline.com\/blog\/post\/2024\/11\/07\/kerala-high-court-quashes-criminal-case-director-sreekumar-menon\/","url_meta":{"origin":332923,"position":0},"title":"Kerala High Court quashes criminal case against director Sreekumar Menon filed by film actress","author":"Apoorva","date":"November 7, 2024","format":false,"excerpt":"The actress alleged that the Sreekumar, through Facebook and over phone, abused her in a manner causing disrepute to her and outraged her modesty.","rel":"","context":"In &quot;Case Briefs&quot;","block_context":{"text":"Case Briefs","link":"https:\/\/www.scconline.com\/blog\/post\/category\/casebriefs\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"Kerala High Court","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.scconline.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/03\/Kerala-High-Court-1.webp?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.scconline.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/03\/Kerala-High-Court-1.webp?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.scconline.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/03\/Kerala-High-Court-1.webp?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.scconline.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/03\/Kerala-High-Court-1.webp?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":275370,"url":"https:\/\/www.scconline.com\/blog\/post\/2022\/10\/11\/mere-phrase-abused-me-in-a-very-filthy-language-does-not-suffice-required-to-prove-the-nature-of-abuses-to-make-a-case-under-s-509-ipc-delhi-court\/","url_meta":{"origin":332923,"position":1},"title":"Mere phrase \u2018abused me in a very filthy language\u2019 does not suffice; Required to prove the nature of abuses to make a case under S. 509 IPC: Delhi Court","author":"Editor","date":"October 11, 2022","format":false,"excerpt":"\u00a0 \u00a0 West, Tis Hazari Courts, Delhi: In a case wherein it is alleged that the accused committed the offence punishable under Section 509 of Penal Code, 1860 (IPC), as the accused started hurling abuses in a filthy language and started to quarrel with the complainant, Devanshu Sajlan, J., held\u2026","rel":"","context":"In &quot;Case Briefs&quot;","block_context":{"text":"Case Briefs","link":"https:\/\/www.scconline.com\/blog\/post\/category\/casebriefs\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"Tis Hazari Court","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.scconline.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/09\/MicrosoftTeams-image-50-1.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.scconline.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/09\/MicrosoftTeams-image-50-1.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.scconline.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/09\/MicrosoftTeams-image-50-1.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.scconline.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/09\/MicrosoftTeams-image-50-1.jpg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.scconline.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/09\/MicrosoftTeams-image-50-1.jpg?resize=1050%2C600&ssl=1 3x"},"classes":[]},{"id":226118,"url":"https:\/\/www.scconline.com\/blog\/post\/2020\/02\/24\/ker-hc-act-of-affront-to-the-decency-and-dignity-of-a-woman-cannot-be-considered-as-trivial-in-nature\/","url_meta":{"origin":332923,"position":2},"title":"Ker HC | Act of affront to the decency and dignity of a woman cannot be considered as trivial in nature","author":"Bhumika Indulia","date":"February 24, 2020","format":false,"excerpt":"Kerala High Court: R. Narayana Pisharadi, J., while dismissing the petition in regard to quashing of FIR and final report that alleges petitioner of being punishable for offence under Section 509 of Penal Code, 1860, referred to the Supreme Court decision of Deputy Inspector General v. Samuthiram, (2013) 1 SCC\u2026","rel":"","context":"In &quot;Case Briefs&quot;","block_context":{"text":"Case Briefs","link":"https:\/\/www.scconline.com\/blog\/post\/category\/casebriefs\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":278832,"url":"https:\/\/www.scconline.com\/blog\/post\/2022\/11\/30\/a-woman-can-be-held-guilty-for-committing-offence-under-section-354-ipc-bombay-court-convicts-a-woman-for-outraging-modesty-of-another-woman\/","url_meta":{"origin":332923,"position":3},"title":"A woman can be held guilty for committing offence under Section 354 IPC; Bombay Court convicts a woman for outraging modesty of another woman","author":"Editor","date":"November 30, 2022","format":false,"excerpt":"Metropolitan Magistrate, 70th Court, Mazgaon, Mumbai: In a case filed against the accused for offences punishable under Section 324, 354, 504, 509 of the Penal Code, 1860, M.V. Chavhan, J., acquitted the accused of the offences punishable under section 324, 504 and 509 of IPC and convicted of the offences\u2026","rel":"","context":"In &quot;Case Briefs&quot;","block_context":{"text":"Case Briefs","link":"https:\/\/www.scconline.com\/blog\/post\/category\/casebriefs\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"Metropolitan Magistrate","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.scconline.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/11\/MicrosoftTeams-image41.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":252529,"url":"https:\/\/www.scconline.com\/blog\/post\/2021\/08\/11\/outraging-modesty-of-a-woman\/","url_meta":{"origin":332923,"position":4},"title":"Bom HC on \u2018Outraging Modesty of Woman\u2019 | Would throwing love chit on person of a married woman amount to outraging her modesty? Read on","author":"Bhumika Indulia","date":"August 11, 2021","format":false,"excerpt":"Bombay High Court: Rohit B. Deo, J., expressed that, The modesty of a woman is her most precious jewel and there cannot be a straitjacket formula to ascertain whether modesty is outraged. Applicant was convicted for offence punishable under Sections 354, 509 and 506 of the Penal Code, 1860. Mrs\u2026","rel":"","context":"In &quot;Case Briefs&quot;","block_context":{"text":"Case Briefs","link":"https:\/\/www.scconline.com\/blog\/post\/category\/casebriefs\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.scconline.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/09\/Bombay-HC.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.scconline.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/09\/Bombay-HC.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.scconline.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/09\/Bombay-HC.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.scconline.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/09\/Bombay-HC.jpg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.scconline.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/09\/Bombay-HC.jpg?resize=1050%2C600&ssl=1 3x"},"classes":[]},{"id":355423,"url":"https:\/\/www.scconline.com\/blog\/post\/2025\/08\/02\/cal-hc-mere-allegations-of-workplace-harassment-not-offence-under-section-509-ipc\/","url_meta":{"origin":332923,"position":5},"title":"Calcutta High Court: Vague allegations of workplace harassment by merely using words \u201charassed\u201d or \u201cabused\u201d insufficient to constitute offence under Section 509 IPC","author":"Editor","date":"August 2, 2025","format":false,"excerpt":"\u201cMere using the words \u201charassed\u201d or \u201cabused\u201d, in the overall conspectus of the case, does not demonstrate the requisite intention or knowledge which can lead to the conclusion that any alleged act of the petitioner constitutes an insult to the complainant\u2019s modesty.\u201d","rel":"","context":"In &quot;Case Briefs&quot;","block_context":{"text":"Case Briefs","link":"https:\/\/www.scconline.com\/blog\/post\/category\/casebriefs\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"Mere allegations of workplace harassment not offence","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.scconline.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/08\/Mere-allegations-of-workplace-harassment-not-offence.webp?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.scconline.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/08\/Mere-allegations-of-workplace-harassment-not-offence.webp?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.scconline.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/08\/Mere-allegations-of-workplace-harassment-not-offence.webp?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.scconline.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/08\/Mere-allegations-of-workplace-harassment-not-offence.webp?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x"},"classes":[]}],"amp_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.scconline.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/332923","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.scconline.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.scconline.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.scconline.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/67512"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.scconline.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=332923"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.scconline.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/332923\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.scconline.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/316393"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.scconline.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=332923"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.scconline.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=332923"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.scconline.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=332923"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}