Married People's Public Kissing Legal in India
Married Couple’s Smooching in Public Ruled Not Obscene by Indian Law
Kissing tales have always attracted people in India though kissing in public is still largely a taboo. Indians largely believe in the saying: Kiss and don’t tell! Thus the latest verdict of The Delhi High Court which says, “it is inconceivable how... an expression of love by a young married couple would attract an offence of obscenity and trigger the coercive process of law”, came as a breakthrough.
It is to be noted that a young married couple spotted kissing under the Dwarka Metro station was booked by the local police for offence under Section 294(obscenity). Justice S Murlidhar of The Delhi High Court put a stay on the FIR lodged against them and made kissing of married people in public places legal in a remarkable verdict stated above.
History Replete with Kissing Scandals
However, this verdict has only triggered mirth and mockery of the Indian social mindset in the West where such public display of affection has never been objectionable. Not long before, Hollywood Star Richard Gere had to become the victim of Indian criticism and protests for kissing actress Shilpa Shetty in a public event. Celebrity Writer Khushwant Singh was also criticized a lot for kissing a lady Pakistani politician a few years ago. Not only this, in the year 2005, in a much talked about case, The Rajasthan Court had put heavy a fine on an Israeli couple for kissing after their marriage was solemnized in a traditional Hindu ceremony in Pushkar.
Mixed Public Reactions in India
Shaswat Kumar, who is a copywriter in a Mumbai, based Ad agency strongly opposes, “I don’t know why people have such double standards. This is the land of Kamasutra and come to think of it we have severe objections to public displays of affection like kissing!” Whereas Sharan, a Bangalore based student has another valid point. “If you think kissing in public places in India is an offence then why not pissing? I think pissing is far more disgusting!” he retorts. Mohit Shankar, who is an RSS activist from Patna, however, strongly differs, Kissing in public is something against Indian culture and why do married people need to do it in public? They can do whatever they like inside closed doors. Who is stopping them? Please don’t dilute our civilized culture and tradition for God’s sake!”
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