Ramana (Business) 30 April 2024

Regarding abusive words and threatening against women

Hi - One of my sister is out of india and her husband had land in a village near Hosur, Tamil nadu.

Recently when i visited the land, 3-4 people had encroached the land and when we questioned about it, they spoke abusive words against my sister in bad manner and she was also in the call listening to this.

I went to police and they are not taking up the case, should we treat this as Civil issue or abuse against women?

Please suggest corrective action here.

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2 Replies

T. Kalaiselvan, Advocate (Advocate) 30 April 2024

The complaint with the police should be criminal in nature.

If the police is still not taking the complaint then you can approach the judicial magistrate court with an application under section 156(3)Cr.p.c seeking direction to concerned police to initiate legal action against them for the acts of violence and offence.

Parth Chawla (Lawyer) 03 May 2024

Hey,

I have analysed your query and would like you to know that Section 294 of Indian Penal Code, 1860 which is provides that whoever does any obscene act in public place or sings, recites or utters any obscene song ballad or words in or near any public place shall be subject to imprisonment of three months or with fine or both. Section 506 of Indian penal code, 1860 provides whoever impute unchastity to a woman shall be punished with imprisonment which may extend to 7 years or with fine or both. Section 509 of Indian Penal Code, 1860 provides that whoever commits offence of criminal intimidation shall be punished with imprisonment which may extend to 2 years or with fine or both.

Now, what course of action you can follow is, you can file a First Information Report as the offence here attracts Section 509 of Indian Penal code, 1860 which is a cognizable offence hence, an FIR must be filed. If police officer is still reluctant to file an FIR, you can directly approach a Magistrate of that jurisdiction where the incident occurred and file a complaint under Section 156(3) of The Criminal Procedure Code, 1973. The Magistrate can direct the FIR to be registered and also direct a proper investigation.

Reference case law: State of Punjab v. Major Singh

In this case, Major Singh, a soldier was accused of using derogatory language and making obscene gestures towards a woman passing by. He was charged under Section 509 Indian Penal Code, 1860. The Supreme Court upheld Major Sing’s conviction and emphasized that the intention to insult the modesty of a woman is a crucial element of the offense under this section.

Hope this helps you solve your query.

Regards,

Parth Chawla