The Bombay High Court has quashed an FIR against a retired senior police officer accused of insulting the modesty of an airline cabin crew member, ruling that the matter was personal and no longer warranted prosecution.
A division bench comprising Justices Sarang Kotwal and S.M. Modak passed the order on May 8, 2025, in favour of former Deputy Commissioner of Police Madhukar Sankhe, who had approached the court seeking to quash the case filed against him last year.
The FIR had been lodged on August 24, 2024, at Matunga Police Station under section 79 of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS), which pertains to words or gestures intended to insult the modesty of a woman. The complaint stemmed from a quarrel between Sankhe and the complainant, a cabin crew member, over a parking dispute at their housing society.
According to the complaint, a signboard belonging to a nearby State Bank of India branch had been temporarily placed near the complainant’s parking spot during a repainting project, obstructing her car. When she approached Sankhe, who served as the society’s secretary, to resolve the issue, an argument broke out during which Sankhe allegedly shouted and used inappropriate language.
The court, however, noted that both parties had since reconciled and were living peacefully in the same society. “The dispute between the parties is purely personal in nature. Both of them are residing in the same society, and they are residing together peacefully as of today. No purpose will be served if the prosecution is continued,” the bench observed.
The complainant also submitted an affidavit before the High Court stating she no longer had any objection to the quashing of the case and wished to move on from the incident.
Sankhe, who retired from the Worli police headquarters in 2016, expressed relief over the court’s decision.
