GIRDHAR GOPAL Vs. STATE

JUDGEMENT

(1.) IN this case the petitioner Girdhar Gopal has been convicted by the City Magistrate, Lashker for offences under Sections 342 and 354, Penal Code and sentenced to six months and one year rigorous imprisonment respectively for each of the offences. The sentences were directed to run concurrently. The Sessions Judge of Gwalior rejected an appeal preferred by the accused against the convictions and sentences. The applicant has now come up in revision to this Court.

(2.) BEFORE me, Mr. Bhagwandas Gupta learned Counsel for the applicant did not challenge the conviction and sentence of the applicant under Section 342, Penal Code, His contention was that Section 354, Penal Code offended against the provisions of Articles 14 and 15 of the Constitution of India and that therefore, Section 354 being void, the conviction of the applicant under that section was illegal. The argument of Mr. Gupta is that as the Penal Code does not make the act of assault or use of criminal force to any man with intent "to outrage his modesty" an offence, Section 354, Penal Code contravenes Article 14 of the Constitution and that in enacting Section 354, Penal Code, the legislature has discriminated in favour of women only on the ground of sex and that therefore, Section 354 offends against Article 15 (1 ). In my view this argument is unsound and must be rejected. The offence under Section 354 is committed only when a person assaults or uses a criminal force to a woman, intending to outrage or knowing it to be likely that he will thereby outrage her modesty. It is not the act of outraging the modesty that is made an offence under this section. In order to constitute an offence under Section 354, Penal Code there must be an assault or use a criminal force to any woman with the intention or knowledge that the woman's modesty will be outraged. The offence under Section 354, Penal Code can be committed by any man or a woman with the necessary intent or knowledge. For, a woman can assault or use criminal force to any other woman as equally and effectively as any man; and the intention or knowledge that the modesty of the woman assaulted or against whom criminal force has been used will be outraged, is not of a kind which a woman on account of inherent differences from man is incapable of having. The pronoun "he" used in the expression "that he will thereby outrage her modesty" must therefore be taken under Section 8, Penal Code as importing a male or a female. It is thus clear that : under Section 354, Penal Code a man as well as a woman can be held guilty of the offence of assaulting or using criminal force to any woman with the intention or knowledge that the woman's modesty will be outraged, and be punished for the offence. Section 354, therefore, operates equally upon all persons whether males or females and it cannot be maintained that as women are exempt from any punishment under this section, it offends against the provisions of Article 14 of the Constitution.

(3.) IT is true that the act of assault or use of criminal force to any man with the intention or knowledge of "outraging his modesty" is not made an offence under the Penal Code. Learned Counsel for the applicant was, however, unable to say what according to him was the meaning of the expression "outraging the modesty of a man" or whether the expression meant "offending the impudence of man" or dishonouring him. It would however, appear from Section 353 that an assault or use of criminal force to any man by a woman intending thereby to dishonour him otherwise than on grave provocation is punishable. Be that as it may the objection of the learned Counsel for the applicant that the Penal Code gives no protection to man against assault or criminal force with intent to "outrage his modesty" is really an objection as to the policy of law in not creating a particular offence. It is not an objection as to the infringement of Article 14 of the Constitution. This Article provides that the State shall not deny to any person equality before the law or the equal protection of laws within the territories of India. Article 14 has been construed by the Supreme Court in several cases See - Raning Rawat v. State of Saurashtra ; - Charanjitlal v. Union of India and by this Court also in - Miss Sumitra Devi v. State of Madhya Bharat 1952 Madh B LR 385 (C) and in effect it means that every law that the State makes shall operate alike upon all persons, and property under the same conditions and circumstances. It does not mean that all persons, property or ' occupation must be treated alike by the State. As pointed out by His Lordship Das J. in - : While Article 14 forbids class legislation it does not forbid reasonable classification for the purposes of legislation. In order, however, to pass the test of permissible classification, two conditions must be fulfilled, namely, (1) that the classification must be founded on an intelligible differentia which distinguishes persons or things that are grouped together from others left out of the group and (2) that that differentia must have a rational relation to the object sought to be achieved by the Act. What is necessary is that there must be a nexus between the basis of classification and the object of the Act.