The High Court in Kerala noted that verbal abuse of personal hygiene and character without sexual undertones or intention to shock the female feeling of decency does not pose an insult to the modesty of women.
The justice bench G. Girish continued to abolish the criminal proceedings against Anas Muhammed M., an inspector of a motor vehicle, for alleged swearing and verbally abuse of a woman who appeared to manage long nail test.
The order was issued on a petition filed by MVI, which tried to cancel the criminal case registered against him for a woman’s complaint.
During the driving test, the petitioner allegedly took note of her long nails and asked angrily if she came up with driving without cropping her nails. He also reportedly asked if he should crop his nails and noted that it should be taken to the bath before the proceedings.
The Court of Justice, who observed that the notes like “bathe” and “cut my nails”, noted that the incident occurred inside the car that was in motion. It cannot be said that the private space inside the car, where the accused allegedly expressed “abusing words”, would get into the public place.
Thus, they did not care about the outrage of female modesty or the use of obscene words in a public place for crime under the Indian Criminal Code, she said.
Published – 8 August 2025 9:03
