Court Observes Late-Night "You Are Fair" Messages To Unfamiliar Woman 'Obscene'
Sending obscene messages to women is a crime, and the clarity on which the obscenity of the messages defined is often ambiguous. A session court recently made it clear that sending messages such as “You are slim, look very smart and fair, and I like you” to an unknown woman at night amounts to obscenity.
The factors, including the unfamiliarity, the time, and the messages, have been clearly mentioned by the court when it stated the judgement while upholding the conviction of a man for sending obscene messages on WhatsApp to a former corporator.
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The order made on February 18 noted that the accused sent the messages and pictures to the complainant between 11 p.m. and 12:30 a.m. The court listed some of the messages that constituted the ‘obscene’, which included “You are slim,” “You are looking very smart,” “You are fair,” “My age is 40 years,” and “Are you married or not?” and “I like you.”
The court reasoned that such WhatsApp messages and obscene photos would not be tolerated by any married woman or her husband, especially when the accused is a stranger to the complainant. The accused had failed to present any evidence of an existing relationship between him and the complainant.
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The Additional Sessions Judge (Dindoshi), D.G. Dhoble, highlighted that the obscenity must be assessed from the perspective of an “average person applying contemporary community standards” while making the judgment. The judge stated that the messages and the act amounted to an insult to the modesty of a woman.
In 2022, a magistrate court had convicted the accused, sentencing him to three months imprisonment, and then accused challenged the verdict in session court. The man claimed that the complainant falsely implicated him due to her political rivalry towards the accused. However, the court has dismissed his claims, citing a lack of supporting evidence and arguing that no woman would stake her dignity implicating an accused in a false case.
The accused also could not bring on record any proof substantiating any relationship between the complainant and accused. Notably, the prosecution would prove the accused sent obscene WhatsApp messages and images to the woman, and the court hence ruled that the accused is “rightly convicted and sentenced by the trial court (magistrate).”
