"Madam, If You Want Leave, Come & Meet Me Alone" Is Not A Sexually Coloured Remark To Attract S.354A IPC: Chhattisgarh HC

"Madam, if you want leave, come and meet me alone" cannot be inferred as a sexually coloured remark, observed Chhattisgarh High Court while quashing a FIR against an Assistant Professor.

The petitioner -accused, who approached the High Court seeking quashing of the criminal proceedings initiated against him by his colleague, contended that he has been charged under Section 354A  of the Indian Penal Code for making this remark and there was no physical contact and advances; or any demand or request for sexual favours, therefore, the offence is not made out against the petitioner.

Section 354A reads as follows: (1) A man committing any of the following acts:

(i) physical contact and advances involving unwelcome and explicit sexual overtures; or

(ii) a demand or request for sexual favours, or

(iii) showing pornography against the will of a woman; or

(iv) making sexually coloured remarks,

shall be guilty of the offence of sexual harassment."

Taking note of the contents of the complaint in this case, Justice Narendra Kumar Vyas observed:

"If we see that the contents of the complaint wherein the complainant has stated that the petitioner has said that "Madam, if you want leave, come and meet me alone" as which cannot be inferred that there is any sexual coloured remarks against her. The remarks made by the petitioner towards her their conversation do not fall within ambit of sexual harassment in order to prosecute the petitioner for commission of offence under Section 354 (A)(iv) of IPC."

The court also quashed the FIR with respect to offence under Section 3(1)(xii) of the Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes (Prevention of Atrocities) Act, 1989 ,observing that accused was not in such a position to exploit the victim woman sexually to which, she would not have otherwise agreed."Apart from the fact that the prosecutrix belongs to the Scheduled Caste community and the accused belongs to different communities, there is nothing on record to show that the crime was perpetrated by the petitioner for the sole reason that the prosecutrix belonged to Scheduled Caste community.", the court said.

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