Sexual Harassment Charges Won't Stand If Woman Is Wearing 'Sexually Provocative' Dress: Kerala Court
|Chandran produced photographs of his accuser in court in his bail application and was granted anticipatory bail on August 12. Previously, he had obtained anticipatory bail on August 2 in another sexual harassment case.
A sexual harassment charge that is Section 354 A of the Indian Penal Code (IPC) will not be attracted if the woman was wearing a "sexually provocative" dress, a Kerala Court. While granting bail to the 74-year-old writer and social activist Civic Chandran in a sexual harassment case, the Kozhikode Sessions Court observed on Wednesday (August 17).
Chandran produced photographs of his accuser in court in his bail application and was granted anticipatory bail on August 12. Previously, he had obtained anticipatory bail on August 2 in another sexual harassment case.
According to Mint, the court order read, "The photographs produced along with the bail application by the accused would reveal that the defacto complainant herself is wearing a sexually provocative dress. So Section 354A will not prima facie stand against the accused. Even admitting that there was physical contact, it is impossible to believe that a man aged 74 and physically disabled can forcefully put the defacto complainant in his lap."
What Is The Case?
The court was hearing an alleged incident on February 8, 2020, where Chandran, the complainant, and some more people were camping at Nandi Beach near Koyilandy in Kozhikode district. He caught the hands of the defacto complainant and forcefully took her to a lonely place. He asked the woman to sit on his lap and touched her inappropriately, thus trying to outrage her modesty.
This year, the woman filed a complaint at the Koyilandy police for offences under Sections 354A(2), 341 and 354 of IPC.
The defence for Chandran said the case is ''false" and "cooked up" by the enemies of the accused. The lawyers also question why it took the victim over two years to register a case when the alleged offence occurred in 2020.