Supreme Court finds words written in emails and social media posts that undermine a woman’s dignity a crime

Bombay: Written wordsWhether by email or on social media, which may undermine a woman’s dignity constitutes a offensehe Bombay High Court he said as he refused to drop a case against a man.

A division bench comprising Justices AS Gadkari and Neela Gokhale dismissed the petition filed by a man seeking to quash the 2009 case filed against him under Section 509 (insulting the modesty of a woman) of the Indian Penal Code.

The man had allegedly written offensive and insulting messages. emails The complainant, who lives in the same South Mumbai society as him, was also sent to the complainant. The emails, according to the complainant, contained comments about her character and were also forwarded to several other members of the society.

The man sought quashing of the FIR on the grounds that under Section 509, the word “uttered” would only mean “spoken”. words‘ and not words ‘written’ in an email or social media posts and so on. However, the High Court dismissed his arguments, observing that courts must adopt a purposive approach to interpretation.

“The advent of modern technology has opened up a wide spectrum of means to communicate an insult. When an email containing objectionable content that may offend a woman’s modesty stares her in the face, can we allow the offender to walk away unfazed, simply because the insult is written and not spoken?” HC said.

Interpretation must correspond to social transformations and re-evaluate legal principles to ensure justice, equity and impartiality, the High Court said.

“As society evolves, the interpretation of the law must also evolve to address emerging challenges and promote social progress. The law is a dynamic entity capable of reflecting and adapting to the changing needs and values ​​of a society,” the court said, adding that the word “statement” in the law should not be given a “pedantic interpretation”.

“If such a narrow interpretation is accepted, many men will get away with it, without facing any consequences, simply by sending emails or using social media platforms to defame and insult a woman and outrage her modesty. Modern technology makes such a way of perpetrating the crime very real,” she said.

The court found that the content of the emails is “undeniably defamatory and aimed at reducing the image and reputation” of the complainant in the eyes of society.

The court refused to quash the case but dropped charges against the man under Section 354 of the Indian Penal Code (assault or use of criminal force against a woman with intent to outrage her modesty).