Court refuses to quash charges of outraging woman's modesty

Only a woman can express the intention of a man who touches her, a Delhi court has observed while dismissing a plea of a man seeking quashing of charges against him for allegedly outraging woman's modesty.
The order came on a petition filed by a couple challenging a magisterial court's order framing charges under IPC sections 354 (assaulting a woman to outrage her modesty), 506 (criminal intimidation) and 509 (insulting woman's modesty through word or gesture), against them.
According to the police, a woman had filed an FIR against the couple alleging that a fight had broken out in October 2012 between her son and the son of the accused.

She had alleged that the man, along with his wife and another person had come to her house and started abusing her. The accused also outraged her modesty while the other two beat her up, the complainant had alleged.
The three accused were later arrested by the police and in July 2014, the magisterial court had framed charges against them under several sections of IPC.
The magisterial court had framed charges under section 506, 509, 323 (voluntarily causing hurt), 341 (wrongfully restraining someone) under IPC against them, while the charge of outraging of modesty was framed only against the husband.

The sessions court noted that prima facie there were clear allegations against them.

"Counsel for petitioner (man and his wife) contended that in a fight between a man and a woman, if the man beats the woman, the man would naturally touch the body of woman which cannot be termed as outraging the modesty," Additional Sessions Judge Sanjay Bansal said.
"This contention is meritless. It is only a woman who can tell as to with what intention a man had touched her," the judge observed while dismissing the plea.
The court said that "as on today, as the allegations of complainant are clear that the petitioner (man) touched her body ...Prima facie a case was made out (against him) under section 354 of IPC".