{"id":3691,"date":"2023-01-10T00:00:00","date_gmt":"2023-01-10T00:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/current_affairs\/uncategorized\/10-01-2023\/obscenity-laws-in-india\/"},"modified":"2025-02-22T12:10:38","modified_gmt":"2025-02-22T06:40:38","slug":"obscenity-laws-in-india","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/current-affairs\/10-01-2023\/obscenity-laws-in-india","title":{"rendered":"Obscenity Laws in India"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p><span style=\"font-size: 13pt;\"><span style=\"font-family: 'Book Antiqua',serif;\"><span style=\"color: #000000;\"><strong><u>In News&nbsp;<\/u><\/strong><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li><span style=\"font-size: 12pt;\"><span style=\"font-family: 'Book Antiqua',serif;\"><span style=\"color: #000000;\">Recently, the Advocate submitted a complaint to the police against\u00a0 Urfi Javed for roaming the streets of Mumbai and exhibiting her body.<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p><span style=\"font-size: 13pt;\"><span style=\"font-family: 'Book Antiqua',serif;\"><span style=\"color: #000000;\"><strong><u>The obscenity Laws in India<\/u><\/strong><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li><span style=\"font-size: 12pt;\"><span style=\"font-family: 'Book Antiqua',serif;\"><span style=\"color: #000000;\">Under the Indian Penal Code (IPC), Sections <\/span><\/span><\/span><span style=\"font-size: 12pt;\"><span style=\"font-family: 'Book Antiqua',serif;\"><span style=\"color: #000000;\"><strong>292, 293 and 294 deal with the offence of obscenity.<\/strong><\/span><\/span><\/span>\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li><span style=\"font-size: 12pt;\"><span style=\"font-family: 'Book Antiqua',serif;\"><span style=\"color: #000000;\"><strong>Section 292 <\/strong><\/span><\/span><\/span><span style=\"font-size: 12pt;\"><span style=\"font-family: 'Book Antiqua',serif;\"><span style=\"color: #000000;\">says that any content shall be deemed to be obscene if it is lascivious or appeals to the prurient interest, or if its effect tends to deprave and corrupt persons likely to read, see or hear the content.\u00a0<\/span><\/span><\/span>\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li><span style=\"font-size: 12pt;\"><span style=\"font-family: 'Book Antiqua',serif;\"><span style=\"color: #000000;\">This section <\/span><\/span><\/span><span style=\"font-size: 12pt;\"><span style=\"font-family: 'Book Antiqua',serif;\"><span style=\"color: #000000;\"><strong>prohibits the sale or publicatio<\/strong><\/span><\/span><\/span><span style=\"font-size: 12pt;\"><span style=\"font-family: 'Book Antiqua',serif;\"><span style=\"color: #000000;\">n of any obscene pamphlet, book, paper, painting, and other such materials.<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><span style=\"font-size: 12pt;\"><span style=\"font-family: 'Book Antiqua',serif;\"><span style=\"color: #000000;\"><strong>Section 293 criminalises<\/strong><\/span><\/span><\/span><span style=\"font-size: 12pt;\"><span style=\"font-family: 'Book Antiqua',serif;\"><span style=\"color: #000000;\"> the <\/span><\/span><\/span><span style=\"font-size: 12pt;\"><span style=\"font-family: 'Book Antiqua',serif;\"><span style=\"color: #000000;\"><strong>sale or distribution of obscene objects<\/strong><\/span><\/span><\/span><span style=\"font-size: 12pt;\"><span style=\"font-family: 'Book Antiqua',serif;\"><span style=\"color: #000000;\"> to anyone who is under the age of 20, or an attempt to do so.<\/span><\/span><\/span>\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li><span style=\"font-size: 12pt;\"><span style=\"font-family: 'Book Antiqua',serif;\"><span style=\"color: #000000;\">\u00a0Although it is a bailable offence, the maximum punishment for the first conviction is<\/span><\/span><\/span><span style=\"font-size: 12pt;\"><span style=\"font-family: 'Book Antiqua',serif;\"><span style=\"color: #000000;\"><strong> three years of imprisonment <\/strong><\/span><\/span><\/span><span style=\"font-size: 12pt;\"><span style=\"font-family: 'Book Antiqua',serif;\"><span style=\"color: #000000;\">and a <\/span><\/span><\/span><span style=\"font-size: 12pt;\"><span style=\"font-family: 'Book Antiqua',serif;\"><span style=\"color: #000000;\"><strong>fine up to Rs 2,000<\/strong><\/span><\/span><\/span><span style=\"font-size: 12pt;\"><span style=\"font-family: 'Book Antiqua',serif;\"><span style=\"color: #000000;\">, and for the second conviction seven years with a fine up to Rs 5,000.<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li><span style=\"font-size: 12pt;\"><span style=\"font-family: 'Book Antiqua',serif;\"><span style=\"color: #000000;\"><strong>Section 294 prohibits obscene<\/strong><\/span><\/span><\/span><span style=\"font-size: 12pt;\"><span style=\"font-family: 'Book Antiqua',serif;\"><span style=\"color: #000000;\"> acts and songs in public spaces.\u00a0<\/span><\/span><\/span>\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li><span style=\"font-size: 12pt;\"><span style=\"font-family: 'Book Antiqua',serif;\"><span style=\"color: #000000;\">The maximum punishment for the person convicted under this charge is three-month jail and a fine.\u00a0<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><span style=\"font-size: 12pt;\"><span style=\"font-family: 'Book Antiqua',serif;\"><span style=\"color: #000000;\">With the advent of the digital age, laws were made to criminalise obscene conduct on the internet also.\u00a0<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><span style=\"font-size: 12pt;\"><span style=\"font-family: 'Book Antiqua',serif;\"><span style=\"color: #000000;\"><strong>Sections 67A of the IT Act <\/strong><\/span><\/span><\/span><span style=\"font-size: 12pt;\"><span style=\"font-family: 'Book Antiqua',serif;\"><span style=\"color: #000000;\">deal with material containing a sexually explicit act etc in electronic form.\u00a0<\/span><\/span><\/span>\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li><span style=\"font-size: 12pt;\"><span style=\"font-family: 'Book Antiqua',serif;\"><span style=\"color: #000000;\">The punishment is five years and Rs 10 lakh (first conviction) or seven years and Rs 10 lakh (second conviction).<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p><span style=\"font-size: 13pt;\"><span style=\"font-family: 'Book Antiqua',serif;\"><span style=\"color: #000000;\"><strong><u>Judiciary\u2019s view&nbsp;<\/u><\/strong><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li><span style=\"font-size: 12pt;\"><span style=\"font-family: 'Book Antiqua',serif;\"><span style=\"color: #000000;\">In 2014, the judiciary used the <\/span><\/span><\/span><span style=\"font-size: 12pt;\"><span style=\"font-family: 'Book Antiqua',serif;\"><span style=\"color: #000000;\"><strong>Hicklin test<\/strong><\/span><\/span><\/span><span style=\"font-size: 12pt;\"><span style=\"font-family: 'Book Antiqua',serif;\"><span style=\"color: #000000;\"> to determine if something is obscene or not.<\/span><\/span><\/span>\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li><span style=\"font-size: 12pt;\"><span style=\"font-family: 'Book Antiqua',serif;\"><span style=\"color: #000000;\">The <\/span><\/span><\/span><span style=\"font-size: 12pt;\"><span style=\"font-family: 'Book Antiqua',serif;\"><span style=\"color: #000000;\"><strong>Hicklin Test<\/strong><\/span><\/span><\/span><span style=\"font-size: 12pt;\"><span style=\"font-family: 'Book Antiqua',serif;\"><span style=\"color: #000000;\"> was established in English Law after the case of <\/span><\/span><\/span><span style=\"font-size: 12pt;\"><span style=\"font-family: 'Book Antiqua',serif;\"><span style=\"color: #000000;\"><strong>Regina vs Hicklin (1868).\u00a0<\/strong><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><span style=\"font-size: 12pt;\"><span style=\"font-family: 'Book Antiqua',serif;\"><span style=\"color: #000000;\">According to it, a work can be considered obscene if any portion of it is found to \u201cdeprave and corrupt those whose minds are open to such influences\u201d.<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li><span style=\"font-size: 12pt;\"><span style=\"font-family: 'Book Antiqua',serif;\"><span style=\"color: #000000;\">The test was most famously used by the<\/span><\/span><\/span><span style=\"font-size: 12pt;\"><span style=\"font-family: 'Book Antiqua',serif;\"><span style=\"color: #000000;\"><strong> Supreme Court to ban DH Lawrence\u2019s Lady Chatterley\u2019s Lover<\/strong><\/span><\/span><\/span><span style=\"font-size: 12pt;\"><span style=\"font-family: 'Book Antiqua',serif;\"><span style=\"color: #000000;\"> in the case of Ranjit D Udeshi vs State Of Maharashtra (1964).<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><span style=\"font-size: 12pt;\"><span style=\"font-family: 'Book Antiqua',serif;\"><span style=\"color: #000000;\">However, in 2014, the apex court did away with the Hicklin Test while hearing the case of <\/span><\/span><\/span><span style=\"font-size: 12pt;\"><span style=\"font-family: 'Book Antiqua',serif;\"><span style=\"color: #000000;\"><strong>Aveek Sarkar &amp; Anr vs State Of West Bengal and Anr<\/strong><\/span><\/span><\/span><span style=\"font-size: 12pt;\"><span style=\"font-family: 'Book Antiqua',serif;\"><span style=\"color: #000000;\">, which was regarding the publication of a semi-nude picture of Boris Becker and his fiancee.<\/span><\/span><\/span>\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li><span style=\"font-size: 12pt;\"><span style=\"font-family: 'Book Antiqua',serif;\"><span style=\"color: #000000;\">In its judgment, the court said \u201cwhile judging as to whether a particular photograph, an article or book is obscene, r<\/span><\/span><\/span><span style=\"font-size: 12pt;\"><span style=\"font-family: 'Book Antiqua',serif;\"><span style=\"color: #000000;\"><strong>egard must be had to the contemporary mores <\/strong><\/span><\/span><\/span><span style=\"font-size: 12pt;\"><span style=\"font-family: 'Book Antiqua',serif;\"><span style=\"color: #000000;\">and <\/span><\/span><\/span><span style=\"font-size: 12pt;\"><span style=\"font-family: 'Book Antiqua',serif;\"><span style=\"color: #000000;\"><strong>national standards<\/strong><\/span><\/span><\/span><span style=\"font-size: 12pt;\"><span style=\"font-family: 'Book Antiqua',serif;\"><span style=\"color: #000000;\"> and not the standard of a group of susceptible or sensitive persons\u201d.\u00a0<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><span style=\"font-size: 12pt;\"><span style=\"font-family: 'Book Antiqua',serif;\"><span style=\"color: #000000;\">It added that the <\/span><\/span><\/span><span style=\"font-size: 12pt;\"><span style=\"font-family: 'Book Antiqua',serif;\"><span style=\"color: #000000;\"><strong>photograph must be \u201ctaken as a whole<\/strong><\/span><\/span><\/span><span style=\"font-size: 12pt;\"><span style=\"font-family: 'Book Antiqua',serif;\"><span style=\"color: #000000;\">\u201d and seen with the context of what it wants to convey.<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p><span style=\"font-size: 12pt;\"><span style=\"font-family: 'Book Antiqua',serif;\"><span style=\"color: #000000;\">Source: <\/span><\/span><\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/indianexpress.com\/article\/explained\/explained-law\/urfi-javed-controversy-obscenity-laws-explained-8368986\/\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\"><span style=\"font-size: 12pt;\"><span style=\"font-family: 'Book Antiqua',serif;\"><span style=\"color: #1155cc;\"><u>IE<\/u><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-background\" style=\"background-color:#ebecf0\"><strong>Further Reading: <\/strong><a href=\"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/current-affairs\/18-02-2025\/online-content-obscenity\" data-type=\"link\" data-id=\"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/current-affairs\/18-02-2025\/online-content-obscenity\"><strong>Obscenity in Online Content<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>In News&nbsp; The obscenity Laws in India Judiciary\u2019s view&nbsp; Source: IE Further Reading: Obscenity in Online Content &nbsp;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":3692,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[21],"tags":[30,52],"class_list":["post-3691","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-current-affairs","tag-gs-2","tag-polity-and-governance"],"acf":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/wp-images.nextias.com\/cdn-cgi\/image\/format=auto\/ca\/uploads\/2023\/07\/2555480Screenshot_6.png","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3691","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=3691"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3691\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":37837,"href":"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3691\/revisions\/37837"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/3692"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=3691"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=3691"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=3691"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}