Obscenity

Umang Modi
Assistant Professor
Faculty of Law
The Maharaja Sayajirao University of Baroda
 Samaresh Bose v Amal Mitra
• Vulgarity arouses a feeling of disgust and
revulsion and also boredom but does not have
the effect of depraving, debasing and
corrupting the morals of any reader of the
novel, whereas obscenity has the tendency to
deprave and corrupt those whose minds are
open to such immoral influences.
Section 2(c) in The Indecent Representation of
Women (Prohibition) Act, 1986

• “indecent representation of women” means

the depiction in any manner of the figure of a
woman, her form or body or any part thereof
in such a way as to have the effect of being
indecent, or derogatory to, or denigrating,
women, or is likely to deprave, corrupt or
injure the public morality or morals;
• As per the data available with the National
Crime Records Bureau (NCRB) a total of 895,
453, 141, 362 and 47 cases under the Indecent
Representation of Women (Prohibition) Act,
1986 have been reported for the period
spanning 2010-2014 respectively of all of
which show a varies understanding of
“indecent representation”, which hinders
effective application of the law.
 Ranjit Udeshi vs State of Maharashtra

• There is, of course, some difference between

obscenity and pornography in that the latter
denotes writings, pictures etc. intended to
arouse sexual desire while the former may
include writings etc. not intended to do so but
which have that tendency. Both, of course,
offend against public decency and morals but
pornography is obscenity in a more
aggravated form. 
Is it obscene?
Do images on condom packets violate law? SC wants to know
• A picture of a nude/semi-nude woman, as such, cannot per se
be called obscene unless it has the tendency to arouse feeling
or revealing an overt sexual desire. The picture should be
suggestive of deprave mind [sic] and designed to excite sexual
passion in persons who are likely to see it, which will depend
on the particular posture and the background in which the
nude/semi- nude woman is depicted. Only those sex-related
materials which have a tendency of ‘exciting lustful thoughts’
can be held to be obscene, but the obscenity has to be
judged from the point of view of an average person, by
applying contemporary community standards.”
"YES!I am a Woman. I have breasts AND a
cleavage! You got a problem!!??"
  Aveek Sarkar Vs. State of West Bengal 
• The court, emphasising the Community Standards test held that “The
message, the photograph wants to convey is that the colour of skin
matters little and love champions over colour. The picture promotes love
affair, leading to a marriage, between a white-skinned man and a black-
skinned woman. We should, therefore, appreciate the photograph and
the article in the light of the message it wants to convey, that is to
eradicate the evil of racism and apartheid in the society and to promote
love and marriage between a white-skinned man and a black-skinned
woman. When viewed in that angle, we are not prepared to say that the
picture or the article which was reproduced by Sports World and the
Anandabazar Patrika be said to be objectionable so as to initiate
proceedings under Section 292 IPC or under Section 4 of the Indecent
Representation of Women (Prohibition) Act, 1986.”
 MF Hussain vs Raj Kumar Pandey
• We have been called as the land of the Kama Sutra then why is it that in
the land of the Kama Sutra, we shy away from its very name? Beauty lies in
the eyes of the beholder and so does obscenity. It is our perception to
objects, thoughts and situations, which rule the mind to perceive them in
the way we do. Way back then, perhaps it would not be wrong to assume
that the people led exotic lives dedicated to sensuality in all its forms. It
was healthy and artistic. They studied sex, practiced sex, shared techniques
with friends, and passed on their secrets to the next generation. All in good
spirit. Sexual pleasure was not behind closed doors or a taboo; it was in the
air in different forms. There was painting, sculpture, poetry, dance and
many more. Sex was embraced as an integral part of a full and complete
life. It is most unfortunate that India's new 'puritanism' is being carried out
in the name of cultural purity and a host of ignorant people are vandalizing
art and pushing us towards a pre-renaissance era