Calling unknown woman ‘darling’ is sexual harassment: Calcutta High Court

KOLKATA: The Calcutta High Court has clarified that calling a woman ‘darling’ with no previous acquaintance is a sexual offense under Section 354 A of the Indian Penal Code. Jai Sen Gupta, the lone member of the Port Blair bench, made a remarkable observation while upholding the conviction of Janak Ram, who called the woman police ‘darling’. The court also clarified that the remark has a sexual meaning and is an insult to womanhood and is punishable under Section 354 A. Janak Ram asked the policewoman, 'Did you come to fine me, darling?'

The court clarified that calling unknown women as ‘darling’ whether drunk or not is a sexual remark. The court further said that if the incident happened when the complainant was in a sober state, the gravity of the offence would perhaps be even more.

On the eve of Durga Puja, Janak Ram made the remark ‘darling’ to the policewoman who was assigned to maintain law and order.

The First-Class Judicial Magistrate found the accused guilty and sentenced Janak Ram to three months imprisonment and imposed a fine of Rs 500. Approached the high court against this. The high court upheld the conviction of the accused but reduced the three-month jail term to one month.