Unfortunate if father & daughter can’t walk on road without facing lewd comments: Kerala HC

PTI, Mar 24, 2022, 1:24 PM IST

Kochi: It is ”unfortunate” that a father and teenage daughter cannot walk together on the road without having to hear lewd comments about her, the Kerala High Court said while declining to grant anticipatory bail to a man who allegedly made such inappropriate remarks and also assaulted the father when he objected to it.

The high court noted that the accused had allegedly hit the father, a retired Sub-Inspector of Police, with a helmet and caused injuries to him for objecting to the lewd comments against his 14-year-old daughter.

”It is unfortunate if a man and his daughter cannot walk together without someone making lewd comments. Such things should stop,” the court observed on Wednesday.

The accused, on the other hand, claimed that the girl’s father had attacked him and the other person who was with him at the time.

To this, the court remarked that it would be the normal reaction of any parent who hears lewd comments against their child.

The accused also told the court that the only non-bailable offence against him was under Section 308 (attempt to commit culpable homicide) of the Indian Penal Code which was not invoked in the instant case.

The prosecution, opposing the anticipatory bail, contended that the retired police officer was walking on the road with his 14-year-old daughter when the petitioner and another accused passed lewd comments against them. When the father protested, he was attacked using a helmet on the chest.

After hearing both sides, the court said, ”Having regard to the facts and circumstances of the case and considering the nature of the allegations, I am of the view that the petitioner is not entitled to anticipatory bail.” The court said if the petitioner-accused surrenders before the investigating officer of the case, he shall be produced before the jurisdictional magistrate on the same day.

”The Magistrate shall consider any application that may be filed by the petitioner without any undue delay, having regard to the merits of the matter,” the court said.