Court upholds conviction of man who stalked a girl, driving her to suicide

Noting that a woman has her own space just as a man does, the Supreme Court on Friday said sexual harassment of women had become a “pernicious, horrid and disgusting” practice in India.

Highlighting how incessant troubling of a woman creates an “incurable dent” on her rights, the court asked why a woman can’t be allowed to live in peace, lead a life that is empowered with dignity and freedom, have her own mind and love according to her choice.

The judgment, authored by Justice Misra, said “male chauvinism has no room in a civilised society”.

Continuing 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 the requisite sense of respect for women has not been socially cultivated,” a three-judge Bench of Justices Dipak Misra, A.M. Khanwilkar and M.M. Shantanagoudar observed in a judgment.

“A man should not put his ego or, for that matter, masculinity on a pedestal and abandon the concept of civility. Egoism must succumb to law,” the court observed in the judgment.

Suicide in 2008

The court was upholding the conviction of a man whose harassment and stalking of a girl, forced her to commit suicide in 2008.

The convict had moved the Supreme Court in appeal against the Himachal Pradesh High Court’s order sentencing him to seven years’ imprisonment for abetment of suicide.

The Supreme Court upheld the High Court’s judgment, saying his conduct included psychological harassment of his victim.”’

‘Gender-sensitivity’

“The right to live with dignity as per Article 21 of the Constitution cannot be violated by indulging in the obnoxious act of eve-teasing. A woman enjoys as much equality under Article 14 of the Constitution as a man does. Eve-teasing affects the fundamental concept of gender sensitivity and justice and the rights of a woman under Article 14 of the Constitution,” Justice Dipak Misra held.