Subject. :- Check over eve-teasing.

I.. . Introductory:- Various legal provisions can be invoked todeal with offences like eve-teasing. Sections294, 354 and 509' of Indian Penal Code andSections 91, ;·92 & 93 of" the Delhi PoliceAct, 1978 are the relevant ones which shouldbe freely made .use of so that this. crimeis -kept under' check. ,,~-

2. . Eve-t.e aslnq is generally indulgedin. by young ROMEOS on festival days e.q,Holi, inUniVersity/CoUeges especially during

....,;_~~ ..,.-_~ ----1o'4p.l.te<.Ln~inwg::l--'-".s.c.es~s•.•.•iow.·n-JOs't-I~subm.i.ssign· of forms, .eas:fl-~~~---counters, cinema houses,· places of publicentertainment, busy' market centres . and bymiscreants including DTe staff in lone DTebuses etc•. It: shall be the duty of local" policeespecially and 311 other officers/men. generallyto check this evil firmly.

II. PreventiveSteps:-

The following st.eps· are s~ggest.edfor this purposes-

(i) In order"' to tackle the problem Qfeye teasing, vigilance. around the educationalinstitutions particularlY. girls instit.ut ions andOTe bUsroutes/st.ops shall . be intensified.

. . .

(ll) Special squads in. mufti shall be. set.up. Beat patrollinq shall .be so organised asto cover as' many girls 'Schools/Colleges aspossible.

(lil) Beat Const.ablesshall be instructed1.0 . st.at ion . themselves near' their schools/colleges/institutions,' particularly during' closingtiming •.

. (iv). Mot.orcycle . patrollinq & peR. vansin the area shall be .instructed t.o cover allthe girls Schools/Colleges/institutions so asto prevent incidents of eve- teasing. . .

(v) Anti-goonda and anti-eve-teasing. drives shall be stepped up during the Hallfestival vand withre-opening of colleges andschools. ; .

(vi) P.C •.R~, Crime(W) CeU and,' Distts.shall launch joint - anti-eve-teasing drivesat suitable intervals.' In 'the drill, DTC busesand U.Specials shall be stopped at flxed pointsand . police men shall ask ladies if they haveany problem or complaint against anyonetravelling. in the :bus. The Police men shallalso ensure that the ladies seats are riot occu-'pied by the men travellinq in buses.

219

(vii) The DTC staff shall be instructedto stop buses near any of' the PCR vans,Police' st at ions and Police Posts in. case there

. is a complaint of. eve-teasing or rowdismin the buses, . .

(viii). The. measures. adopted shall be givenwide publicity in colleges and the lady com-muters 'shall .beadivsed to lake hel . of the

at times of need,

Ox) Efforts shall be made to organisejoint drives by ·the volunt eers . from st.udentsunions . bot.h .girls and boys, OTe staff andPolice. The menace 'of eve-teasing can onlybe successfully combat.ed if they' combinetheir efforts whole heartedly. t

. :. (x) 'DCP/PCR will have surprise checksconducted at' Rlys. St.ation, .. in local trainswith the help ·of crime (W)Cell.

(xi) Sensitive bus routes shall be ident ifiedand plain clothed/uniformed arrangementsmade in such buses.

(xii)l,..iaison shall be established wit.h Univer-sity College authorities, nrqanlaers of sports,dramas, and similar other functions and jointoperations launched with the help of thesevolunteers from educational Inst itutions,especially the Women's colleges.

(xiii) Police pickets shall be posted in front.of major Women's colleges, Co-educational

·-in·stitotions, near. bus stops and other placeswhere hooligans operate.

(xtv) The Police Control Room shall. ensure thepresence vof its vehicles at sensitive spots, peR st.affshall be properly briefed about the action t.o be takenby them'in cases of hooliganism which may cometo their notice. . .

(xv) Suitable arranqernents shall be made by. theDistricts at liquor shops as well as in communallysensitive areas.

(xvi) DCP/Crime(W) Cell shall monitor the anti-eve-teasing arrangements in the city and 'shall alsotake steps to involve women speical police officers

- --I. __ L --... U/ '.... _~,.;!2I"iaatinnR tn nrp.vent un-

- ---------- ---------(:vii~-- -~~-~~~-;~-~:~---~~:-~;-t~~-~~C -:~~~- and drivers/ t:!.fJIconductors of private buses shall be identified andmatter brought to t.he notice of OTC authortt les,This apart stringent. legal action shall be 'taken aqalnstsuch offenders.

III Action 3. Whenever a Police· Officer, whether on dutyby Polieeor otherwise, happens to notice any one utterinq inde-.officers/ cent words, songs etc., in or near any public place :men: directed. towards any woman, or indecently exposing

his person in the presence of a woman in .any publicplace, t.he police officer shall arrest that person atonce u/s 294, IPC. If the police officer happens tobe in mufti, he shall disclose his identit.y to the accused·and others. This act also comes wilhinmischief con-templated by .aforsaid Sections of the Delhi PolleeAct, Bot.h the offences are cognizable: In such. a case,the police 'officer has to collect evidence .that :theact of the accused caused. annoyance t.o any member

~~~~~---M-members of the. public, whe-Rapf)eRed. to be-there_---~----The prosecution case does not ·suffer for lack of proofof . annoyance merely, because the woman who. wasthe aimed victim of t.heobscene act is not beingproduced as a vwitness, Any· member of the publicwho happens to. be there and to whom the.· annoyancewas caused due to the indecent act of the accusedmay be cited .as wltnesses in the case. If section294, IPC,~is applied then t.he' case has to be reqistered .and properly investigated, .'even if the occurra~ceis reported. at the police station or outside thoughoccurrance may not have been witnessed by the police .officer. On the. other hand if arrest is mads under

appropriate sections of Delhi Police Act,'only a complaint const.ituting the offencetogether with a list of witnesses is to be.forwarded to the court for trial through the .SHO/SDPO concerned.

it may also happen t.hat while a policeOfficer is present outstde the Police .Station·on dut.y or otherwise, somebody comes forwardand charges a personpresent there wit.h havingcommitted an obscene act in any public placeaimed at a women. The police officer insuch circumstances can also arrest that ·persohu/s 42 Cr.P.C., if .,.that person on demandby. the Police officer refuses to give his namearid residence or gives a name or residence,

. which such the pollee officer: has reason. tobelieve to be false, so that his name or resid-ence may be ascertained. The police officershall also forward a complaint stating factsof the case to the Maqistrate under appropriateSections of D.P. Act. If the circumstanceswarrant a heavier punishment, a case u/s29,4, IPC,. be registered and investigated. ..

....

IV. Public place 'significanceof:-

4. . The word 'public place I . includes anyplace to which the public has an access,whether they have ;'I right. to go there ornot, like public' urinals, public houses and.public conveyances such as ' buses, taxies,tonqas, Railway platforms, goods. yard of

.~.,."

-"~" '---. ----

If, .•however, an, assault is made allor criminal force is used toa woman withintent, to outraqe or' knowing it to be likelythat he' will thereby outraqe her modesty,the act. .of the culprit comes wit.hin the purviewof section 354 IPC, which offence. is cognizableand bailable. A regular, case should there

- -be - registered and' investigated: The SupremeCourt of India has held in 1967 Cr.L.J. page 1

~--~-tl1ai_whe;, any act done to or in the presenceof a woman, is clearly suggesl.ive of sex accord-ing to' the common notion of t.hemankind,that act will fall wit.hin this section.' Theessence' of the women's modesty is her sex.The" reaction of, the woman' is very relevant.but its absence is not always decisive. Forexample when the accused with a corruptmind stealthily touches t.he flesh of a sleepingwoman, she' may be an, idiot or she may beunable to appreciate the significance' of theact. Nevert.heless, the offender' is punishableunder ,this section, Snatching or trying tosnatch any wearing apparel ·including 'Dupatta'or '8URQA' .of a woman, sitting by the -sideof the women sleeping on a cot, unbutt.oningor loosening the 't.rousers of the' women are••Ian ••nme of the' instances' punishable under

V. Mischief:-

:.:

V~. Criminal forcein cogniianceto be taken:-

~. .

-------.: ------ -"a Railway Stat.ion, unfenced compound~--a-":"""-----"".-_place forming part, of, compound of placeof workship, ghats, theater halls and all otheropen spaces resort.ed t.o by the public forthe purpose of recreation and amusementetc. The, act, if committed' even from housetop Visible to persons present on the roador in some" ot.her houses is also punishableunder these sections of law.

5.' If tlie indecent utterance, of .wordsor song's or making of any sound or gestureand exhibition of any object is done by anyperson at any place whether public or, otherwisewith' the intentiori of insulting the "modesty,of a" women, when the act.", of" that personcomes wlfliln [lte i"iseme-f-'--.€.eAtempl.••a.••te""dU-..J.;b!.J.Y_section 509, IPe. Even inthe cases coveredunder this sect ion, it. is not necessary tocite" a woman victim aimed at, as a' witness.It is also not necessary that the women aimed,at," should have either heard the indecent.words or seen the indecent exposure herself.Arrest. of the culprit can, however, be madeif,' t.heac( is committed in t,ne presence ofpolice officer, or the culprit has been' chargedasstatedinsect.ion 41' Cr.P.C. This sectionalso, covers the cases where a 'person intending'to insult the .rnodesty of the woman, intrudesupon the "privacy of such a women, such as :following 'a woman at various places andlaughing' and grinning and, starting at herwhile passing ,and re-passinq and shout ingher name and so on, or sending, a letter toawornancontalnlnq indecent overtures.

.. _...J_ •.•

_________ 4 4 __ • _

, p --th~-s~-e-c-t-io~~~-o-t --o-n-Iy--t-n-e-:-o-m-a-n-a-in-le-d-'-a-t---:-~--:-'1--:-1"""'-'--

is an essential witness but independent evidencehas also to be collected. .

..

7. The Police Officer· whilesubmiUinga complaint under Delhi Police Act, beforethe' court, may also consider the desirabilityof applying section 509, IPC, if it. is so war-ranted by the Iacts, The provisions of section 42Cr. P.C. rnay also be availed of in all suitable'cases keeping in view the aforesaid instanceswhich are rnerelyilJustrative and. notexhau-stive,

Previous S.D. No.170· issued videthis Hdqrs, No~22709-228 1O/C&T, dated 17.11.66 .and circular order No.3D . issued vide this

_~~~~~~~----Mlettrs.-NO. 8979-9500/C&i f dated 20.4. 78are hereby cancelled.

VII. Super-Sessionclause:-

Sd/-(KANWALJIT DEOL) DCP/HQ(lI)

for COMMISSIONER OF POLlCE:DELHI,

. .

No.7614-7814/XXV/97/86~C&T-AC-V, dated the 31/1/1989., CORRIGENDUM

Subject :- Check over Eve-tesing- S.D. No. 170

The sent ence :"The offence,' however, is non:-cognizable.and permission. to investigate the case arid arrest of the accusedby a magistrate is essential' occurring in 8th to .10th lines of para.V under sub-head "Mischief" in S.O. No. 170 issued vide this Hdqrs.No.' 7614-7814/C&T-AC-V, dated 31.1.89 may please be deleted asthe offence is cognizable.

Sd/-(KANWALJIT DEOL) DCP/HQ(IO

for COMMISSIONER OF POLlCE : DELHI.

No.18827-190S9/C&T-AC-V, dated, Delhi the 18/3/89.

·i

CIRCULAR

No. oj /201'6~ubject: - Directions to curb eve-teasing in public place.

The Hon'ble Supreme Court of India whiledisposingof civil Appeal No 8513 of 2012 [Arisingout of SLP (Civil)No.:31592 of 2008) in the matter of The Deputy Inspector Generalof Police & Am. Vs. S. Samathiram has directed that it isnecessary to bring about proper legislation to curb eve teasingand until such legislation is enacted, some urgent measuresshould be taken to deal with this menace. District Addl.CsP/DCsP are therefore directed to comply with the followingdirections of the Hon'bleApexCourt:-

1.

2.

3.

4.

5:

6.

Plain clothed female police officers shall bedeployed in the precincts of Educational.Institutions, Bus stands/ stops, Railway Stations,Metro Stations, Cinema theaters, Shopping Malls,Parks, Public Service Vehicles, places of worship,etc. In case of an incident of eve-teasing theyshould intervene and take legal action.

LocalPolice should liaise with heads of educationalinstitutions, places of worship, Cinema theaters,bus depot managers with ·the instructions to takesteps to curb eve· teasing in their precincts andcomplainants may be informed to report toconcerned police station or nearest PCRVanjWornenJielp Centre for legal action. Writtendirections on what to do in such cases may be givento such institutes.

Where any incident of eve teasing is committed in apublic service vehicle either by the passengera orthe persons in charge of the vehicle, the crew ofsuch vehicle shall, on a complaint made by theaggrievedperson, take such a vehicle to the nearestpolice station and give information to the police.Failure to do so should lead to cancellation of thepermit to ply.

Beat Officers/Traffic police personnel will monitoreve teasing activities in their respective beats andaround place of duty respectively to make thepresence of police felt, which certainly willdiscourage eve teasers.

The telephone number of Women Help Line [1091)and Pollee Control Room [100) should beprominently displayed and immediate action betaken on the complaints of eve teasing beingreceivedthrough Helplineor PoliceControl Room.

AllPCRVans will make proactive efforts to preventeve teasing and intervene immediately and help thevictim even if she is not interested in lodging acomplaint due to apprehension of becominga targetin public or neighborhood.

7.

8.

seriously.

Suitable cautionary boards against acts of eve-teasing be exhibited in all public. places includingprecincts of educational' institutions, bus stands,Railway Stations, cinema theaters, parties,beaches, public service vehicles, places of worship,etc. Liaison should be made with Women NGOs,Child and Women Department and Social WelfareDepartment in this regard.

Wide publicity be made in print and electronicmedia to encourage the public at large to informabout any incident of eve teasing to local police orPCR present nearby or Control Room.

Non compliance of ~ese directions will be viewed

~/(ANlL SHUKLA)

ADDL. COMMISSIONER OF. POLICE:PHQ, DELHI.

No. /- 2..a-o /Record Branch/PHQ dated, Delhi, the 7// I~.:>13Copy forwarded t6:-

1. All Special Commissioners of Police including MD/DPHC,Delhi.

2. All Joint Commissioners of Police, Delhi.3. Add!. Commissioners of Policeincluding Principal/PTC,

Delhi.4. All Deputy Commissioners of Police of Districts/Units

including FRRO, Delhi/New Delhi.5. SO/PA to Commissioner of Police, LA to Commissioner of

Police, Delhi.6. All ACsP in PHQ7. ACP/IT Centre with the direction to upload the Circular

in Intra DP net.8. - All ACsP/Sub-Division9. All Inspectors/PHQ, including Reader to CP, Delhi10. Librarian/PHQ.