MUMBAI, 21 FEB

A sessions court has ruled that sending messages like “you are slim, look very smart and fair, I like you” to an unknown woman at night amounts to obscenity.

The Additional Sessions Judge (Dindoshi) DG Dhoble made these observations while upholding the conviction of a man booked for sending obscene messages on WhatsApp to a former corporator.

The obscenity must be judged from the perspective of an “average person applying contemporary community standards”, noted the order of 18 February.

The court noted that pictures and messages were sent to the complainant between 11 pm and 12.30 am with content like “you are slim”, “you are looking very smart”, “you are fair”, “my age is 40 years”, “are you married or not?” and “I like you”.

No married woman or her husband who are “reputed and (former) corporators" would tolerate such WhatsApp messages and obscene photos, particularly when the sender and the complainant do not know each other, the court said.

“Nothing has been brought on record by the accused that there was any relationship between them,” it said.

The judge held that the messages and the act amounted to an insult to the modesty of a woman.

Earlier, the accused was convicted by a magistrate court here in 2022 and sentenced to imprisonment for three months. He subsequently challenged the decision in the sessions court.

Among other grounds, the accused claimed he was implicated falsely in the case over political rivalry.

However, the court rejected his contention, saying it was not supported by any evidence.

“Furthermore, no woman would stake her dignity implicating an accused in a false case,” it held.

The prosecution has proved that the accused sent obscene WhatsApp messages and images to the woman, the court said.

“Therefore, the accused is rightly convicted and sentenced by the trial court (magistrate),” the sessions judge noted.