Bengaluru : The Karnataka High Court has held that writing a woman's mobile number in a public toilet as a "call girl" not only degraded the dignity of the woman but also caused mental torture. The court refused to quash the case against the accused who was involved in this type of act.
Alla Baksha Patil, a resident of Chitradurga, petitioned the court seeking cancellation of the case registered against him by the Upparapet police in Bengaluru and for ordering an inquiry into it. The bench headed by Justice M Nagaprasanna, who heard the matter, gave this order. It also refused to quash the charge sheet against the petitioner.
''Exposing a woman's privacy causes serious psychological harm to her personally. It also hurts a woman's soul. It causes more pain than physical damage. Being involved in such acts against a woman leads to a traumatic experience,'' the bench said.
''The act committed by the petitioner degrades the dignity of a woman by writing indecent things about her and provoking the public to call and speak obscenely. Physical harm is not necessary in the current digital age. A woman's dignity can be compromised by circulating derogatory statements, images or videos on social media these days. Therefore, in such cases, if the accused comes before the court seeking quashing of the case, there is no need for the court to interfere,'' the bench said.
''Sexual violence against women is the most inhuman act. But in the present case, the woman's right to privacy has been encroached upon. This kind of act is not justifiable. These cases should be treated strictly. The petitioner's conduct has led to degrading and humiliating the woman in public. This kind of accusation cannot be avoided,'' the bench said.
In addition, the bench said that the investigators were free to question another woman who had given the mobile numbers of the victim to the accused.
Background of the case: The mobile number of a married woman, who is a junior health assistant in a primary health centre in Chitradurga district, started receiving calls from anonymous people at unexpected times. Her life was threatened. On checking these calls, it was found that "call girl (Belevennu) can be contacted'' and the phone number were written on the walls of the men's toilet at the Majestic Bus Stand in Bengaluru.
In this regard, the woman had complained to the CEN station in Chitradurga demanding that a woman staff who was working with her at the health centre should be investigated into this. Chitradurga police registered the complaint and transferred the case to Upparapet police station in Bengaluru.
The police, who investigated the complaint, questioned the junior assistant of the primary health centre where the complainant was working. During questioning, 'The complainant woman was harassing me. So I gave her mobile number to my friend (petitioner) to teach a lesson. I told him to make a warning call to her through the senior officials. But he wrote her mobile number on the wall of the toilet,' the junior assistant said in the police investigation.
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