AIR 2016 SUPREME COURT 4486 ::2016 CriLR(SC&MP) 1006 ::(2016) 4 RecCriR 454 ::2017 (5) SCC 817 ::(2016) 97 AllCriC 939

Supreme Court Of India

(From : Punjab and Haryana)*

Hon'ble Judge(s): V. Gopala Gowda, R. K. Agrawal , JJ

(A) Penal Code (45 of 1860) , S.354— Outraging modesty of woman - Ingredients - Mere knowledge that modesty of a woman is likely to be outraged is sufficient without any deliberate intention of having such 'outrage' alone for its object. In order to constitute the offence under Section 354 of the IPC, mere knowledge that the modesty of a woman is likely to be outraged is sufficient without any deliberate intention of having such 'outrage' alone for its object. There is no abstract conception of modesty that can apply to all cases. A careful approach has to be adopted by the court while dealing with a case alleging outrage of modesty. The essential ingredients of the offence under Section 354, IPC are as under: (i) that the person assaulted must be a woman; (ii) that the accused must have used criminal force on her; and (iii) that the criminal force must have been used on the woman intending thereby to outrage her modesty. It is undoubtedly correct that if intention or knowledge is one of the ingredients of any offence, it has got to be proved like other ingredients for convicting a person. But, it is also equally true that those ingredients being state of mind may not be proved by direct evidence and may have to be inferred from the attending circumstances of a given case.(Para 22 24) ....