ABDUL NOUSHAD Vs. STATE OF KERALA

JUDGEMENT

(1.) If a Muslim girl gives a handshake to an adult male, and the girl who is giving the handshake and the adult who is accepting the handshake have no problem, can a third person can say that the Muslim girl violated the religious beliefs? This is the question to be decided in this case.

(2.) Petitioner is the accused in C.C.No.785/2017 on the file of the Judicial First Class Magistrate Court, Kunnamangalam. The above case is charge sheeted against the petitioner alleging offences punishable under Sec. 153 of the Indian Penal Code and Sec. 119(a) of the Kerala Police Act, 2011. The defacto complainant in the above case is the 2nd respondent herein. It is submitted that, the 2nd respondent is a Law Graduate, who was a student of Karanthur Markaz Law College, Kozhikode. The case of the 2nd respondent is that, while she was a 2nd year Law Student at Markaz Law College, she got the opportunity to participate in an interactive session of Dr. T.M.Thomas Isaac, the then Minister of Finance, Government of Kerala, which was conducted in her college. The students who were participating in the Interactive Session could ask the Hon'ble Minister questions, and for such students, the Hon'ble Minister would also give a gift. Accordingly, the 2nd respondent was among the few students who were called upon the stage to be awarded a gift by the Hon'ble Minister himself for asking questions. The students who were called upon the stage, first gave a handshake to the Hon'ble Minister and then received the respective gifts and the said event was captured by media photographers and shown live in various Channels. The 2nd respondent also accepted the gift after giving a handshake to the minister. The grievance of the 2nd respondent is that, a few days after the above event, she came to know from her friends that a new facebook post highlighting her handshake to the Hon'ble Minister was generated with a specification that she had violated Shariat Law. In addition to the same, the 2nd respondent in her complaint stated that a WhatsApp video has been circulating, containing the speech of the petitioner, remarking that she had violated Shariat Law by giving a handshake to the Hon'ble Minister, and as she being a grown up girl has committed adultery by touching another man and the said sequence of her handshake is also displayed in the video. The grievance of the 2nd respondent is that due to the circulation of the aforesaid WhatsApp video, she and her family were put in disgrace. Hence it is alleged that the accused committed the offence. Annexure-A1 is the final report. According to the petitioner, even if the entire allegations are accepted, the offences under Sec. 153 of the Indian Penal Code and Sec. 119(a) of the Kerala Police Act are not attracted.

(3.) Heard the learned counsel for the petitioner and the learned Public Prosecutor.