Mar
ilyn Thipthorpe
In compliance with Section 249 of the India Penal Code, an individual can be punished for indulging in obscene acts in a public place if it causes annoyance to anyone. This however has a catch- The public place in question must be opens to the public at large, any dwelling or space that has private ownership but attracts the public cannot be considered a public space.
Now why in the world am I obsessing over the codes and rules in India? Well, recently a petition filed by 13 men to the Bombay High Court has been granted. The men were arrested in December after a complaint was lodged with the police, stating that scantily clad women were seen dancing with men in a certain apartment. Upon entry to the apartment, the police did find the situation to be true, in fact not only were the six women scantily clad, they were dancing while thirteen drunk men were showering cash upon them. The men were arrested and charged under IPC Section 294, no mention was made of what happened to the women.
Everyone thought this was a done deal, until one man filed a petition stating that Code 249 did not apply to then, because the apartment was not a public space it was in fact his private property. The division bench of Justices N. H. Patil and A. M. Badar reviewed the petition and passed it along with approval to the Bombay High Court. The petition was accepted and the men freed stating that they had not done anything illegal, as they had not participated in any obscene acts in public.