The Kerala High Court has quashed a case registered against a women's rights activist who was booked for offences under the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act. The case was filed against her after she posted a video on her social media platforms showing her two minor children, a 14-year-old boy and an 8-year-old girl, painting on her semi-nude torso.
In the judgment, Justice Kauser Edappagath stated that nudity and obscenity are not always synonymous, and sexual intent is a necessary ingredient to attract the charges filed against the petitioner. The Court watched the video in open court and took note of the petitioner's detailed message below the video, where she argued that the act was a response to a controlling, sexually frustrated society. The Court considered the petitioner's history as an activist and her involvement in the 'Kiss of Love' movement in 2014, which protested against moral policing in Kochi.
After analyzing the video, statements from the children, and the petitioner's history as an activist, the Court concluded that there was no evidence to suggest any sexual intent behind the petitioner's actions. The Court emphasized that every parent has the right to raise their children as they wish and teach them about life. It stated that allowing a mother's body to be used as a canvas by her children to paint is not an act with sexual intent but rather a way to sensitize them to view nude bodies as normal and not just sexual objects.
The Court further noted that the video cannot be characterized as a real or simulated sexual act, nor was it done for the purpose of sexual gratification. Consequently, the High Court quashed the case against the petitioner.
The petitioner, a 33-year-old women's rights activist, had posted the video as a form of self-expression and an attempt to challenge social and cultural taboos that restrict women's bodies. However, she faced outrage from several people who considered the act obscene and vulgar. Despite being released on bail, she had to go through trial court proceedings, where her application seeking discharge was rejected before she approached the High Court.
The petitioner argued that the video should be understood in the context of the accompanying message, which aimed to normalize the female body and prevent distorted ideas of sexualization in children's minds. The prosecution, on the other hand, contended that the video violated the statute's prohibition on specific uses of children.
The Court reiterated that sexual intent is a necessary ingredient for the charges filed against the petitioner and emphasized the right of a woman to make autonomous decisions about her body, which is at the core of her fundamental rights to equality and privacy. It observed that women are often bullied and discriminated against for exercising choices regarding their bodies and lives.
The Court also pointed out the discrepancy in how society treats the naked male body compared to the female body. It emphasized that regardless of one's perception of morality, what is moral and what is legal do not always align.
Considering that none of the alleged offences applied to the petitioner, the Court set aside the trial court's order and discharged her. The petitioner was represented by Advocate Renjith B Marar, while the Senior Public Prosecutor TV Neema appeared for the State.
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TAGS: Keywords: Kerala High Court quashed case activist Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act nudity obscenity sexual intent video social media platforms minor children mother's torso painting semi-nude Justice Kauser Edappagath message controlling society sexually frustrated women's rights activist Kiss of Love movement Kochi patriarchy hyper-sexualization mother's nakedness sexual objects normalize self-expression social and cultural taboos outrage vulgar trial court discharge prosecution statute bodily autonomy equality privacy moral legal freedom of speech and expression propagation criminal action Advocate Renjith B Marar Senior Public Prosecutor TV Neema.
