Calling ‘Unknown’ Women Darling is Sexual Harrasment

The Calcutta High Court recently ruled that addressing an unknown woman as “darling” is offensive and can be considered a criminal act under Sections 354A and 509 of the Indian Penal Code. In a case involving Janak Ram, who, in an inebriated state, called a woman constable “darling,” the court upheld his conviction.

Justice Jay Sengupta, the single judge at the High Court’s Port Blair bench, said that using such language towards an unfamiliar woman, regardless of her profession, is inherently offensive and sexually colored. The court highlighted that current societal standards do not permit men to casually use such expressions toward unsuspecting women.

Justice Sengupta pointed out that if the incident had occurred when Janak Ram was sober, the gravity of the offense might have been even greater. Janak Ram had posed a sexually colored question to the woman constable, asking if she had come to impose a fine.

The incident took place when a police team, including the woman constable, was responding to a disturbance report near Lall Tikrey during Durga Puja. The miscreant was detained, and when the group gathered under a streetlight, Janak Ram addressed the constable with an offensive question.

The Judicial Magistrate, First Class, initially convicted Janak Ram, and later, the Additional Sessions Judge rejected his appeal. However, while acknowledging sufficient evidence of the offensive remark, the Calcutta High Court noted that Janak Ram did not escalate the offense beyond uttering the offensive word. As a result, the court reduced his three-month jail term to one-month imprisonment.