Voyeurism in the Indian Law

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Introduction

Crimes against women are increasing day by day. Every day the newspapers are filled with brutalities against women. Rapes, domestic violence, dowry deaths etc. have now become common headlines. However, there is a rise of another shameful felony against women. This is nothing other than “Voyeurism”. With the growing technology and online platforms, connectivity has become manifold. But this technology has now started to cob a web for another crime of the new world.

According to the report of the National Crimes Record Bureau 2019, there were 2419 cases of voyeurism. It increased from 1393 in 2018 to 2419 cases of voyeurism in 2019. The cases were the maximum recorded in Maharashtra followed by Delhi. However, only 144 complaints were filed in the National Commission for Women.

In the present times, technology has advanced by leaps and bounds, everyone and everything can be found on the internet. This, however, also led to the need for the establishment of an adequate law to deal with the legal loopholes of the technological era. Due to these circumstances, the IT (INFORMATION AND TECHNOLOGY ACT), 2000 came into existence which deals with numerous cybercrimes.

The recent incident that took place at Chandigarh University is one such example of Voyeurism.

Meaning of Voyeurism

The term voyeur has been taken from the French word ‘voir’ which means “to see”. Voyeurism is defined as the act of deriving sexual pleasure from covert observation as they perform sexual activities or just undress. A voyeur is a person who does voyeurism to satisfy his sexual needs and desires.

Voyeuristic Disorder

Casual voyeurism can become problematic when it infringes the dignity or privacy of an individual.  It can cause hindrances in the day-to-day functioning and life of an individual. As these urges increase so much that they can also lead to getting the voyeur aroused through the involvement in sexual activity without any consent.

This can occur alongside other adverse conditions like depression, anxiety, substance abuse etc. In some of the conditions, a voyeur can also develop another paraphilic disorder like exhibitionist disorder.

Such adverse conditions are generally caused by hypersexuality, sexual abuse, substance abuse etc.

People affected by such conditions who require diagnosis must be 18 years of age and must have had this persisting condition for 6 months. The patients are usually treated through medications or different forms of psychotherapy. Cognitive behaviour therapy helps in controlling impulses or urges.

It is important to treat such disorders as these disorders sometimes get out of hand and are the cause of rapes and other sexual offences committed upon people.

Constitutional Provisions

Electronic Voyeurism: With the advent of technology and the adoption of the IT ACT 2000, the crime of Voyeurism was recognised and penalised, it covered both men and women and was punishable for 3 years with a fine up to Rs, 2 lakhs. The Information & Technology Amendment Act, 2008 incorporated section 66 E, section 67, section 67 A and section 79. All these provisions strengthened the concept of Voyeurism.

Section 66E: Penalty for invasion of privacy: Whoever, intentionally or knowingly, captures, publishes or transmits the image of a private area of any person without that person’s consent, in a manner that invades that person’s privacy, shall be punished with imprisonment that may last up to three years or with a fine of not more than two lakh rupees, or with both.

Justification. – For the purposes of this section,

  • (a) “transmit” means to transfer a visual picture electronically with the intention that it be viewed by a person or people.
  • (b) “capture” means to videotape, photograph, film, or otherwise record a visual image
  • (c) “private area” refers to the female breast, pubic region, or genitalia when they are exposed or covered by undergarments.
  • (d) The term “publishes” refers to reproduction in putting it online or in print, and making it accessible to the public; e) “under conditions invading privacy” refers to situations where a person may reasonably believe that; –

(1) he or she could undress alone without worrying that a photograph of his or her private area would be taken; or

(2) regardless of whether the individual is in a public or private setting, no portion of his or her private region would be seen by the general public.

Section 67 and 67 A Punishment for publishing or transmitting obscene material in electronic form: Whoever intends to publish or transmit such material in electronic form which is lascivious in nature and may corrupt or deprave the minds of the persons who are likely to hear, see and read such material which is embodied in it shall be punished with a term of three years and fine up to rupees 5 lakh or in the subsequent conviction for a term of 5 years and a fine up to rupees 10 lakh.

Apart from this, Voyeurism violates Article 21 of the Constitution which protects the right to life and personal liberty. The concept of Voyeurism is based on the doctrine of reasonable expectation of privacy which was held in the case of Justice K.S. Puttaswamy (Retd) vs Union of India, the Right to privacy was incorporated under the Right to living a dignified life, where the person’s privacy is given excellent protection, the act of Voyeurism stands entirely against it.

The spine-chilling, gruesome Nirbhaya Gang rape case in 2012, brought about the recommendation of Justice Verma Committee report, which subsequently brought the Criminal Law Amendment Bill 2013, which provided for the punishment of the act of Voyeurism up to 7 years of imprisonment.

Legal Provisions

Voyeurism is defined in section 354 C of the Indian Penal Code 1860 which states that any man who witnesses or photographs a woman engaging in a private act in circumstances where she would typically expect that she would not be observed by the perpetrator or by any other person acting at the perpetrator’s direction, or who publishes such an image, shall be punished on first conviction with imprisonment of either description for a term that shall not be less than one year but may reach three years, which can further extend up to seven years and will also be liable for fine.

For the purposes of this section, a “private act” is any sexual act that is not typically performed in public, is performed in a place where privacy is reasonably expected under the circumstances, and in which the victim’s genitalia, posterior, or breasts are exposed or covered only by underwear.

The act of disseminating an image or act is deemed to be an offence under this section when the victim gives her consent to the act of being photographed but not to its distribution to third parties.

Landmark Judgements

  1. The Ritu Kohli Case is of the utmost importance because Ritu Kohli, the victim, filed a complaint against Manish Kathuria for stalking her on the internet via a social media chatting website and frequently using her name to invite people to chat with him using derogatory and offensive language for them as a result of which the victim began receiving calls from various states in India. The Delhi police reported her under section 509 of the IPC for utilising her name for their own selfish ends as well as insulting a woman’s modesty through words and deeds. This law brought the amendment to section 66 E of the IT ACT as section 509 of the IPC was not sufficient to deal with such cases.
  1. In the 2019 case of State v. Shailesh, Justice Susheel Bala Dagar determined that while voyeurism is a silly form of amusement for men, it traumatises women mentally. These actions violate a woman’s right to privacy, making her feel insecure in settings that are typically designed to be safe for women. The Supreme Court reaffirmed its 1995 ruling in Rajagopal v. the State of Tamil Nadu in this case, adding that the right to privacy includes the “right of being left alone.”
  2. In a recent incident, a male nurse from the Sanjay Gandhi Institute of Trauma and Orthopaedics was charged under Section 354C of the IPC after it was discovered that he had been filming other nurses while they changed before an operation. The issue is still being considered.

Issues in the Enforcement of The Law

  1. In some cases, the victim remains unaware of the fact that her private photos or videos are being circulated.
  2. In most cases the victim is blackmailed for a ransom of money or sexual favours or else the private date would be leaked.
  3. In order to protect the dignity and the name in society, the victim remains shut
  4. The victims are mostly unaware of the laws dealing with such crimes.

Suggestive Measures to Combat Voyeurism

  1. Public Awareness: This is one of the imperative steps to be taken towards combating acts of voyeurism. Not only the victims should know about the available legal remedies but also the potential perpetrator should know the grave consequences of his profane acts.
  2. Fixing the Loopholes in The Law: There are certain loopholes in the law regarding voyeurism itself. Firstly, the law is not gender-neutral, it does not consider males as victims of crimes like voyeurism. Secondly, there is no consideration given to photoshop or morphed images of the victims which makes it difficult to cover it under the ambit of the present laws existing.
  3. Periodic Scrutiny by the Agencies: There should be periodic scrutiny done by the agencies in public places like malls, public washrooms etc. to spot the presence of any hidden cameras.
  4. Maintaining the Anonymity: The anonymity of the victims should be maintained, and their identities must be protected at any cost. The perpetrators are able to get away with the crimes because they know that a number of cases often go unreported to protect the name and reputation of the women in society.
  5. Counselling: The victims often have to go through a lot of humiliation and shame, which may result in depression, anxiety, post-traumatic stress disorder etc. in such cases, the victims must be given proper medical counselling and help.

On the other hand, the offenders of such crimes also suffer from voyeuristic disorders. They should be given proper punishment for their acts, but they should also be treated medically.

Conclusion

Voyeurism is emerging as a sex crime in India. The expansion of technology is making a potential breeding ground for such crimes to take place exponentially. India is ranked 133 out of 167 countries and is not thought to be a safe place for women, according to the second report published in 2019 by Georgetown University’s Institute for Women, Peace and Security (GIWPS), which considers inclusion, justice, and safety of women as three main factors along with 11 sub-indicators.

The security of people also depends on their ability to maintain their privacy and protect their personal information. The punishment of voyeurism, acid attacks, and stalking gives the public some assurance that their right to privacy is being protected. Every citizen has the fundamental right to life, which is a component of the right to privacy, which is the most basic of all rights.

The government should come up with more laws, plans and strategies to combat this issue so that no more lives are threatened and destroyed by these sex-driven voyeurs.

References

This article has been submitted by Barira Parvez, a student at New Law College, Bharati Vidyapeeth, Pune.


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