'Urinating in public 'indecent act', but does not pose threat to woman's modesty'

Ahmedabad: In one of its recent observations, the Gujarat high court has observed that peeing in the public may be an indecent act, but it does not amount to outraging a woman's modesty.

According to a report published in ToI, the Gujarat High Court made this observation while hearing a petition filed by a tea vendor Ushaben Ode, who had accused a washer-man of attempting to outrage her modesty by urinating near her tea stall.  

Justice JB Pardiwala, who made this observation, dropped Section 354 of the IPC against the accused Shyam Sundar Dhobi and lawyer Chetan Gore from Vadodara on Thursday.

The court said that urinating in the open on a public road even during a physical emergency is an indecent act but it does not harm or amounts to outraging a woman's modesty.

Gore's mother was hospitalized in June last year when the accused came to see her. He parked his bike near the tea stall and urinated on the road. The tea vendor took exception to Dhobi's action.

The two were engaged in a heated argument when the local cops intervened and booked Dhobi, Gore and his minor son under various charges including for urination in the open.

The court, meanwhile, permitted the police to continues its investigation and press other charges of assault and threats against the accused.