'Haram' word is bound to insult the modesty of woman, says Delhi court

NEW DELHI: A court recently observed that the word 'haram' meant something earned through ill-gotten or bastardised means and was bound to insult the modesty of any hardworking woman.

The court of judicial magistrate first class said, "The word 'haram' is not a word used simply to insult a person. The word 'haram' means something forbidden and earned with ill-gotten/bastardised means."

The observations came while convicting a man in a case registered against him under Section 509 (word, gesture or act intended to insult the modesty of a woman) of IPC 1860. According to the prosecution, the accused used to pass lewd comments at the woman, his neighbour since 2017. He was accused of insulting the modesty of a woman by uttering, "Haram ka maal le ke aa gayi hai, kitno se karwa ke aai hai."

The court said that the word 'haram' denoted that the woman was not loyal. It noted that the words "kitno se karwa ke aai hai" were not a simple insult but directly hit at the sex of a woman. The word was intended to mean that the woman was promiscuous and cast an aspersion on her character, it pointed out. "The words also mean that she is engaged in sexual intercourse with various people. Hence, the court is of the view that the words spoken by the accused are intended to insult the modesty of the complainant," the judge said.

The defence said no eyewitness was examined by the prosecution and that it was only the complainant who stated that the accused uttered the words in question.