Mumbai: The Bombay High Court has quashed a case filed against five people under section 294 of the Indian Penal Code, which deals with obscenity in public places. The court said that women dancing in short clothes cannot be considered obscene or immoral and that it should not bother anyone. The court observed that wearing such clothes has become normal and acceptable in today’s times.
The case was related to a raid conducted by the Mumbai Police at a resort, where six women were allegedly dancing in short skirts and performing suggestive gestures, while the customers were throwing money at them. The police had registered a case against the resort owner, the manager, the DJ, and the women dancers under section 294, which prohibits any act or utterance that is obscene or tends to corrupt morals.
However, a bench of Justice Vinay Joshi and Valmiki Menezes heard the case and dismissed the charges against the accused. The bench said that the police had failed to prove how the women’s dance was obscene or how it affected public decency. The bench also said that they were aware of the prevailing norms of Indian society, but they could not ignore the changing trends and preferences of people.
The court also cited examples of films and TV shows, where actors and actresses wear similar or even more revealing clothes. The court said that section 294 does not apply in this case, as it was not intended to cover such acts of entertainment. The court said that the police should focus on more serious crimes, rather than harassing innocent people for their choice of clothing or dance.
