Commenting on woman’s figure amounts to sexual harassment: Kerala High Court

In a landmark judgment, the Kerala High Court has said that a comment on a woman’s “body structure” is a sexually coloured remark which falls within the scope of sexual harassment.

Justice A Badharudeen made observation while dismissing a former Kerala State Electricity Board (KSEB) employee’s plea to quash the sexual harassment case against him filed by a woman colleague.

The woman alleged that the accused used vulgar language against her from 2013 onwards and then in 2016-17 began sending objectionable messages and voice calls.

She claimed that despite complaints against him to the KSEB and the police, he continued sending her objectionable messages.

Following her complaints, the accused was booked for the offences under sections 354A (sexual harassment) and 509 (insulting modesty of a woman) of the IPC and section 120(o) (causing nuisance through any means of communication by undesirable call, letter, writing, message) of the Kerala Police Act.

During the hearing, the accused claimed that mere reference that a person has a nice body structure could not be attributed to sexually coloured remarks within the ambit of section 354A and 509 of the IPC and section 120(o) of the Kerala Police Act.

The prosecution, on the other hand, contended that the calls and messages of the accused carried sexually coloured remarks intended to harass her and outrage her modesty.

Justice Badharudeen rejected accused’s contention. The court affirmed prosecution's stand, ensuring that the case against petitioner would proceed.