,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,
gesture, or exhibits any object, intending that such word or sound shall be heard, or that such gesture or object shall be seen, by such woman, or",,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,
intrudes upon the privacy of such woman [shall be punished with simple imprisonment for a term which may extend to three years and also with fine].,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,
12. In the decision reported in [2024 KHC OnLine 584 : 2024 KHC 584 : 2024 KER 49601 : 2024 KLT OnLine 1799 : 2024 SCC OnLine Ker. 3595],",,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,
XXXX . State of Kerala, this Court considered the essentials to constitute an offence punishable under Section 509 of IPC and held in paragraph 11",,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,
as under:,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,
“11. In the decision in Joseph M.V. v. State of Kerala reported in [2024 KHC OnLine 440 : 2024 KER 36566], in paragraph Nos.11 to 13, this Court held as",,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,
under:,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,
“11. In order to bring home an offence punishable under S.509 IPC, the ingredients are; utterance of any word, makes any sound or gesture, or exhibits any",,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,
object, with an intention to insult the modesty of a woman, or with intention to intrude upon the privacy of such a woman.",,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,
12. Coming to the definition of the word 'modesty', the same has not been defined in the Indian Penal Code. So it is worth to look into its dictionary meaning. As",,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,
per Shorter Oxford English Dictionary (Third Edition) modesty is the quality of being modest and in relation to woman means ""womanly propriety of behaviour,",,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,
scrupulous chastity of thought, speech and conduct"". The word 'modest' in relation to woman is defined in the abbove dictionary as ""decorous in manner and",,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,
conduct; not forward or lewd; shamefast"". Webster's Third new International Dictionary of the English Language defines modesty as ""freedom from coarseness,",,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,
indelicacy or indecency' a regard for propriety in dress, speech or conduct"". In the Oxford English Dictionary (1993 Ed) the meaning of the word 'modesty' is",,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,
given as ""womanly propriety of behaviour, scrupulous chastity of thought, speech and conduct (in man or woman); reserve or sense of shame proceeding from",,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,
instinctive aversion to impure or coarse suggestions"".",,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,
13. To sum up, mere utterance of unpleasant or abusive words without an intention either to insult the modesty of the woman or to intrude upon the privacy of",,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,
such woman would not attract offence under S.509 of IPC. Here the allegation is confined to use of a proverb which contains an abusive element, as extracted",,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,
herein above. Merely because the accused made a comment/proverb which contains an abusive element, in reply to a humiliating comment made by the defacto",,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,
complainant, stating that the sim seemed like one bitten by a dog, it could not be held that the accused either insulted the modesty of a woman or intruded on her",,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,
privacy.â€,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,
13. Coming to Section 120(o) of K.P Act, in the decision reported in[2024 (5) KHC 22],R aveendran V.K v. State of Kerala & anr., this Court held",,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,
in paragraphs 15 and 17 as under:,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,
15. The next point to be decided is; whether the petitioner herein committed offence under Section 120(o) of the K.P Act? Section 120 of the K.P Act provides as,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,
under:,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,
“120. Penalty for causing nuisance and violation of public order.â€",,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,
If any person,â€"",,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,
xxxx xxxx xxxx xxxx xxxx,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,
(o) causing, through any means of communication, a nuisance of himself to any person by repeated or undesirable or anonymous call, letter, writing, message, e-",,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,
mail or through a messenger;,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,
xxxx xxxx xxxx""",,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,
16. xxxxxxx,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,
17. The question poses is, effecting publication or 2024:KER:62751 communication stating that a person, who is alive, as dead, would amount to a nuisance to",,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,
the said person. On reading the definition of the term `nuisance’, the same means, a person or thing causing inconvenience or annoyance. Otherwise, the same",,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,
is an act, which is harmful or offensive to the public or a member of it and for which there is a legal remedy. Coming to the term `annoyance’, the same is the",,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,
feeling or state of being annoyed or irritated. It is difficult to say that once a communication is made so as to make a person a feeling or a state of being irritated,",,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,
the same is not an annoyance or nuisance for the purpose of Section 120(o) of the K.P Act. If so, the publication effected by the petitioner herein would definitely",,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,
attract an offence punishable under Section 120(o) of the Kerala Police Act, prima facie.",,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,
14. Going by the ratio in Raveendran V.K v. State of Kerala & anr. (supra) and the ingredients of Section 120(o) of the K.P Act, if any person",,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,
causing inconvenience or annoyance through any means of communication, a nuisance of himself to any person by repeated or undesirable or",,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,
anonymous call, letter, writing, message, e-mail or through a messenger, is an offence. Therefore, in the facts of this case, Section 120(o) of the K.P",,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,
Act also squarely would apply.,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,
15. In the decision in Vineet Kumar & Ors. v. State of U.P & anr., reported in [2017 KHC 6274 : AIR 2017 SC 1884 : 2017 (13) SCC 369], the",,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,
Apex Court held in paragraph 39 that, inherent power given to the High Court under Section 482 Cr.P.C. is with the purpose and object of",,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,
advancement of justice. In case solemn process of Court is sought to be abused by a person with some oblique motive, the Court has to",,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,
thwart the attempt at the very threshold. The Court cannot permit a prosecution to go on if the case falls in one of the Categories as,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,
illustratively enumerated by this Court in [AIR 1960 SC 866], State of Haryana v. Bhajan Lal. Judicial process is a solemn proceeding",,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,
which cannot be allowed to be converted into an instrument of operation or harassment. When there are material to indicate that a criminal,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,
proceeding is manifestly attended with mala fide and proceeding is maliciously instituted with an ulterior motive, the High Court will not",,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,
hesitate in exercise of its jurisdiction under Section 482 Cr.P.C. to quash the proceeding under Category 7 as enumerated in State of,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,
Haryana v. Bhajan Lal (supra), which is to the following effect:",,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,
“(7) Where a criminal proceeding is manifestly attended with mala fide and/or where the proceeding is maliciously instituted with an ulterior motive for,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,
wreaking vengeance on the accused and with a view to spite him due to private and personal grudge.â€,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,
16. Similarly, in another decision in Mahmood Ali v. State of U.P. reported in [2023 KHC 7029 : 2023 KHC OnLine 7029 : 2023 LiveLaw (SC) 613 :",,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,
2023 KLT OnLine 1751 : AIR 2023 SC 3709 : AIR OnLine 2023 SC 602 : 2023 CriLJ 3896], the Apex Court while considering the power under",,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,
Section 482 Cr.P.C, in paragraph 12 held that, ‘whenever an accused comes before the Court invoking either the inherent powers under",,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,
S.482 of the Code of Criminal Procedure or extraordinary jurisdiction under Art.226 of the Constitution to get the FIR or the criminal,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,
proceedings quashed essentially on the ground that such proceedings are manifestly frivolous or vexatious or instituted with the ulterior,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,
motive for wreaking vengeance, then in such circumstances the Court owes a duty to look into the FIR with care and a little more closely.",,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,
We say so because once the complainant decides to proceed against the accused with an ulterior motive for wreaking personal vengeance,",,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,
etc., then he would ensure that the FIR/complaint is very well drafted with all the necessary pleadings. The complainant would ensure that",,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,
the averments made in the FIR/complaint are such that they disclose the necessary ingredients to constitute the alleged offence. Therefore, it",,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,
will not be just enough for the Court to look into the averments made in the FIR/complaint alone for the purpose of ascertaining whether the,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,
necessary ingredients to constitute the alleged offence are disclosed or not. In frivolous or vexatious proceedings, the Court owes a duty to",,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,
look into many other attending circumstances emerging from the record of the case over and above the averments and, if need be, with due",,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,
care and circumspection try to read in between the lines. The Court while exercising its jurisdiction under S.482 of the Cr.P.C. or Art.226 of,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,
the Constitution need not restrict itself only to the stage of a case but is empowered to take into account the overall circumstances leading to,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,
the initiation / registration of the case as well as the materials collected in the course of investigation. Take for instance the case on hand.,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,
Multiple FIRs have been registered over a period of time. It is in the background of such circumstances the registration of multiple FIRs,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,
assumes importance, thereby attracting the issue of wreaking vengeance out of private or personal grudge as alleged.’",,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,
17. Therefore, the legal position is clear that quashment of criminal proceedings can be resorted to when the prosecution materials do not constitute",,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,
materials to attract the offence alleged to be committed. Similarly, the Court owes a duty to look into the other attending circumstances, over and",,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,
above the averments to see whether there are materials to indicate that a criminal proceeding is manifestly attended with mala fide and proceeding,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,
instituted maliciously with ulterior motives. Once the said fact is established, the same is a good reason to quash the criminal proceedings.",,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,
,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,
