‘Woman’s naked upper body not sexual by default’: A lowdown on what Kerala HC said

The details: The observation was made by the High Court while quashing the case against a women’s rights activist, who was facing a case under the POCSO Act on charges of allowing her two minor children to paint on her semi-nude torso.

Some background: The 2020 case had been filed by the Kochi Police after the activist took to social media to share a video of two children painting on her semi-naked upper body. The visuals had triggered outrage on the internet, following which the police had booked her under various sections of POCSO Act, IT Act and Juvenile Justice Act.

The judgment: The Kerala High Court dismissed the case against the activist, and stated that “the intention of the petitioner in making and uploading the video was to expose this double standard prevailing in society.”

“Society’s morality and some people’s sentiments cannot be the reason for instituting a crime and prosecuting a person. An action is permissible if it does not violate any of the laws of the land. The notions of social morality are inherently subjective. Morality and criminality are not coextensive. What is considered as morally wrong is not necessarily legally wrong,” the court said.