Describing eve-teasing as a “disgusting practice”, the Supreme Court on Friday said no one can compel a woman to love him and she has an absolute right to reject anyone.
“A man should not put his ego or… masculinity on a pedestal and abandon the concept of civility. Egoism must succumb to law, said a Bench headed by Justice Dipak Misra upholding the conviction and seven-year rigorous imprisonment awarded to a man from Himachal Pradesh for abetting the suicide of a teen-aged girl whom he used to harass.
Convict Pawan Kumar had once eloped with a girl from his neighborhood and faced criminal proceedings for kidnapping. He, however, was acquitted as the girl supported her during the trial. As the girl distanced herself from him, he started harassing her. Faced with constant eve-teasing and harassment, she committed suicide by burning herself on July 18, 2008, after Pawan went to her house and threatened to take her along forcibly.
The trial court had acquitted him. But the Himachal Pradesh High Court reversed the acquittal verdict and sentenced him to seven-year rigorous imprisonment and imposed a fine of Rs 10,000 on him.
Rejecting his appeal against the High Court’s verdict, the Supreme Court said: “The instant case portrays the deplorable depravity of the appellant that has led to a heart-breaking situation for a young girl who has been compelled to put an end to her life. Therefore, the High Court has absolutely correctly reversed the judgment of acquittal and imposed the sentence. It has appositely exercised the jurisdiction and we concur with the same.”
The court expressed serious concern over eve-teasing becoming “a pernicious, horrid and disgusting practice.”
It said: “The present case eminently projects a case of psychological harassment. We are at pains to state that in a civilised society eve-teasing is causing harassment to women in educational institutions, public places, parks, railways stations and other public places which only go to show that requisite sense of respect for women has not been socially cultivated.”
The Bench said: “A woman has her own space as a man has. She enjoys as much equality under Article 14 of the Constitution (right to equality) as a man does. The right to live with dignity as guaranteed under Article 21 of the Constitution cannot be violated by indulging in obnoxious act of eve-teasing.
“It affects the fundamental concept of gender sensitivity and justice and the rights of a woman under Article 14 of the Constitution. That apart it creates an incurable dent in the right (to non-discrimination) of a woman which she has under Article 15 of the Constitution,” it added.
Equality has to be regarded as the summum bonum (the highest good) of the constitutional principle in this context, it noted.
