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Synopsis

The Bombay High Court recently quashed an FIR against five individuals booked for watching a performance by scantily dressed women and showering them with dummy currency notes.

The high court observed that the act of 6 girls who were also booked of wearing short skirts, dancing provocatively, and making gestures in the subjective opinion of police is not an obscene act.

“…wearing short skirts, dancing provocatively or making gestures that the Police Officials consider obscene cannot be termed to be per se obscene acts, which could cause annoyance to any member of the public,” the order reads.

The division bench of Justice Vinay Joshi and Justice Valmiki SA Menezes at the Nagpur bench said that the decision of what is considered obscene or not should not be left to the discretion of police officials.

“Whilst holding so, we are mindful of the general norms of morality prevalent in present Indian Society and take judicial note of the fact, that in present times it is quite common and acceptable that women may wear such clothing, or may be clad in swimming costumes or such other revealing attire. We often witness this manner of dress in films which pass censorship or at beauty pageants held in broad public view, without causing annoyance to any audience. Surely the provisions of Section 294 of IPC would not apply to all this situation,” the order states.

Five individuals had petitioned the high court to have the FIRs filed against them quashed.

The FIR was filed by the police official who booked the individuals under the Indian Penal Code, 1860, the Maharashtra Police Act, 1951, and the Maharashtra Prohibition Act, 1949.

According to the FIR, six women were wearing revealing clothing and dancing provocatively, while the audience showered counterfeit Rs. 10 notes on the women. The police also recovered three bottles of alcohol.

The counsel representing the appellants argued that the FIR did not contain specific elements required under Section 294 of the IPC, as it did not mention that any person had been annoyed due to the alleged obscene act.

Furthermore, it was emphasized that the performance took place within a Banquet Hall at a Resort, which was neither a public place nor open to public view.

The appellants asserted that an offence cannot be established under this provision of the IPC simply because a police officer, in their subjective opinion, deemed the women's clothing and dance movements as obscene.

The prosecution countered by stating that the entire raid was carried out based on confidential information that an obscene dance performance was taking place, with women dressed in revealing attire, within the said Resort.

 Upon conducting the raid at the Banquet Hall, six women were found in the Hall, dressed in short clothes and dancing provocatively while making obscene gestures.

Additionally, the prosecution argued that the customers were also participating in the dance and showering fake currency notes on the women, thereby justifying the registration of the FIR.

The division bench agreed with the contentions of the appellants and quashed the FIR while noting that,

“Surely the provisions of Section 294 of IPC would not apply to all this situation and we are unable to countenance a situation where acts such as the ones referred to in the FIR would be judged by a Police Officer, who in his personal opinion considers them to be obscene acts to cause annoyance to any member of the public. Taking a narrow view as to what acts could constitute an obscenity would be a retrograde act, on our part. We prefer taking a progressive view in the matter and are unwilling to leave such a decision in the hands of Police Officials,” the order reads.

Advocate A. A. Naik appeared for the applicants.

Additional Public Prosecutor SS Doifode appeared for the state government.

Case title: Lalita Bais & Ors vs State of Maharashtra