Court finds man guilty of defaming interior designer

Almost nine years after an FIR was lodged in the matter, a court in Delhi has convicted a man for the offence of using abusive words to insult the modesty of a woman.
The court said that it was evident from the record that “outrageous and demeaning words” were uttered by the accused in the office, intending to be heard by everyone and also to insult the victim’s modesty. Metropolitan Magistrate Vijayshree Rathore was hearing the case against Mahesh Kumar Panwar, a former accountant of a private firm who was accused of insulting the modesty of the complainant, an interior designer, by “uttering outrageous words” on 3 April 2014.
“The fact is that the accused had uttered the words … which any prudent person would generally not utter to any female. The above words are … outrageous and demeaning to the dignity of the lady and it is also evident from the record that such words were uttered by the accused in the office, intending to be heard by everyone present there and also to insult the modesty of the victim,” the magistrate said.
“I hold that the prosecution has successfully proved its case against the accused, Mahesh Kumar Panwar, beyond all reasonable doubts under section 509 (word, gesture or act intended to insult the modesty of a woman) of the Indian Penal Code. The accused is accordingly convicted,” she added in her order passed recently.
The arguments on sentencing will be heard on 28 April.
Regarding what constituted an insult to a woman’s modesty, the magistrate said, “It is common knowledge that any words, spoken or sung, picture or figure exhibited, which suggests lewd thoughts, is immoral and insulting to female modesty unless the woman is a consenting party to it.”