In a significant ruling, a sessions court in Mumbai has declared that sending unsolicited messages like “you are slim, look very smart and fair, I like you” to an unknown woman during nighttime constitutes an act of obscenity. The verdict was passed by Additional Sessions Judge D.G. Dhoble of Dindoshi Sessions Court, who upheld the earlier conviction of a man charged with sending such messages on WhatsApp to a former corporator.
The incident, which involved messages and pictures being sent between 11 PM and 12:30 AM, prompted the court to evaluate the content as obscene from the viewpoint of an “average person applying contemporary community standards”. The messages included remarks about the woman’s appearance, inquiries about her marital status, and expressions of personal interest.
Highlighting the social context, the court noted that no married woman or her husband, especially those known as former corporators, would find such communication acceptable. This perspective was crucial, given that there was no prior relationship or acquaintance between the sender and the recipient.
In his defense, the accused argued that his implication in the case was a result of political rivalry. However, the court dismissed these claims due to lack of evidence, emphasizing that no woman would compromise her dignity by falsely implicating someone.
Initially convicted by a magistrate court in 2022 and sentenced to three months of imprisonment, the accused’s appeal in the sessions court was unsuccessful. The sessions judge confirmed that the evidence presented by the prosecution clearly established the transmission of obscene messages and images, thereby warranting the conviction and the sentence imposed by the trial court. This case marks a noteworthy stance on the boundaries of acceptable communication on digital platforms, particularly concerning the respect for personal boundaries and women’s dignity.
