Court Reverses Police Case Against Two Young Men
The Nagpur Bench of the Bombay High Court has intervened on behalf of an Indian Army aspirant involved in a case concerning alleged obscene gestures that purportedly offended some women in Akola.
The court quashed the first information report (FIR) after identifying issues in the complaint. During the hearing of a petition by Akshay Chavan and Abijeet Taide, both students from Akola, the division bench of Justice Vinay Joshi and Justice Abhay Mantri emphasized that mere allegations of obscene gestures were insufficient for prosecution. Akshay Chavan, who aspires to join the Indian Army, presented a “call letter” from the Army as part of the court proceedings.
The Akola Civil Lines police filed an FIR under Section 509 (making obscene gestures) against Akshay Chavan and Abhijeet Taide based on a complaint from head constable Sunil Khapre. The complaint alleged that on February 20, 2024, the students made obscene gestures at women in front of an apartment in Shastrinagar. However, it did not specify what types of gestures were allegedly made.
The High Court granted the petition filed by both students and quashed the FIR, stating that a description of the obscene gestures was necessary to establish the offence. Advocate Swapnil Wankhede, representing the students, informed the court that Akshay Chavan had received a “call letter” from the Indian Army but would be unable to respond due to the registered offence against him. He referenced a similar ruling from the Kerala High Court to support his argument.