Under Which Sections is a Case Registered for Misbehavior and Assault with a Woman? What is the Punishment?

Misbehavior and Assault with a Woman: Unfortunately, violence against women is a big problem in India. It includes crimes like physical harassment, misbehavior and violence. This is usually done by a man against a woman. Recently, the case of assault on Rajya Sabha MP Swati Maliwal at the Delhi Chief Minister’s residence is in the headlines.

Breaking her silence three days after the incident, Swati Maliwal recorded her statement with the Delhi Police. Maliwal said that on May 13, when she was sitting in the drawing room at the Chief Minister’s residence, she was misbehaved with. Kejriwal’s PA Bibhav Kumar slapped her on the face, kicked her in the stomach and also beat her with a stick. 

After Swati Maliwal’s statement, Delhi Police has registered an FIR against Bibhav Kumar and two others. This case has been registered under sections 354, 506, 509 and 323 of the IPC. His medical checkup has also been done at Delhi AIIMS on Thursday night.

The central government and state governments have made many laws to protect the dignity of women. There are some laws in the constitution to protect women in every way. So let us know about some such women safety rights which every person should know.

First know what rights are given to women in the constitution.

The constitution not only gives equal rights to women, but also allows the government to run special schemes for women. This is done because for centuries women have had fewer opportunities in society, in terms of money, in education and in politics.

• Article 14: It says that women and men will have equal rights before the law and in government.
• Section 15: It prohibits discrimination on the grounds of any religion, caste or sex.
• Section 16: It says that women and men should get equal opportunities for government jobs or any government post.
• Section 39(a)(d): It states that it is the responsibility of the government to provide equal opportunity for employment to everyone.
• Section 42: It gives responsibility to the government to ensure decent and safe working conditions for all.

What should a woman do if she is subjected to a crime?

There are some crimes that can only be committed against women. Many laws have been made to prevent these crimes. One of these laws is Section 354 of the Indian Penal Code. According to this, if anyone attacks or uses criminal force on a woman with the intention of outraging her modesty or knowing that his doing so is likely to outrage her modesty, there is a provision for strict action against that accused man.

This crime means that a woman has been sexually abused against her will which has caused her embarrassment, humiliation or mental agony. It can also include acts such as lewd comments, insulting behaviour or intimidation which make the woman feel unsafe or humiliated.

Under Section 354 of the Indian Penal Code (IPC), the punishment can be either a jail term of one to five years or a fine. To increase its scope, four additional subsections have been added to it. If a woman directly accuses of sexual harassment, a case is registered under 354A. Such an act can result in a jail term of up to three years, a fine or both.

If a man attacks a woman or uses unlawful force with the intention of removing her clothes, he is punished under section 354B IPC. Such an act can attract a jail term of three to seven years and a fine. If a man watches or photographs a woman when she expects privacy, a case is registered under 354C and action is taken. The punishment for such an offence is one to three years in jail. If such an offence is committed for the second time, the person can be imprisoned for three to seven years.

Sometimes a man harasses a woman continuously. He may follow her, call or message her repeatedly or search for her on social media. All these things can make a woman feel insecure. This is commonly called ‘eve teasing’. The punishment for a first offence is up to three years in prison. A second offence can attract a jail term of up to 5 years.

Outraging the modesty of a woman (Section 509)

If a man tries to play with the honor or modesty of a woman, he can be punished under this law. Even if he has not done any physical attack. The purpose of this law (Section 509) is to prevent outraging the modesty of a woman in any way, whether it is by any word, gesture or action or by interfering with the privacy of the woman.

If a person commits an offence under this section, he may be punished with imprisonment of up to three years and fine.

Acid Attack (Section 326A and 326B)

The law was amended in 2013. Under this amendment, Section 326A and 326B were added to punish those who throw acid. This law applies to causing serious injury to someone by using acid. If a person throws acid on someone or makes them drink it and his intention is to cause serious injury to that person, then he can be imprisoned for a minimum of 10 years to life.

Section 326B: If a person tries to throw acid on someone which may cause serious injury to that person, then he can be punished with imprisonment of at least 5 years to 7 years, along with fine. 

What should a woman do if she is harassed at the workplace?

Every woman has the right to complain about any kind of sexual harassment in her office. There is a law for this – Prevention, Prohibition and Redressal of Sexual Harassment of Women at Workplace Act 2013. It is often known as POSH Act.

If anyone has misbehaved with you in the office, you can complain about it. For this you get three months’ time, the counting starts from the day of that incident. To complain, you will have to file a written complaint. You can file this complaint in the office’s ‘Internal Complaint Committee’ (ICC). Usually every good and big company has an ICC in its office. 

Right to hide one’s identity

Many times women do not complain because they feel that this will reduce the honor of their family. This is a wrong custom of the society. Therefore, everyone has the right to complain by hiding their identity, especially this is for those women who are victims of sexual violence. The law helps them. Under section 228(A) of the Indian Penal Code, a victim of sexual violence can give a statement in the court before the district magistrate or in front of a woman police officer by hiding her identity. This protects her privacy. 

Report of crimes against women in India

Government records show that crimes against women are increasing continuously in India. According to the National Crime Records Bureau, the cases of reporting crimes against women in 2021 increased by 15.3% as compared to 2020.

In 2011, more than 2 lakh 28 thousand cases were registered against women.

At the same time, in the year 2021, this figure increased to more than 4 lakh 28 thousand. That is, crimes against women have increased by 87 percent in 10 years.

If we look at the regional statistics, the number of women living in West Bengal is 7.5 percent of the country, but the number of cases of crime against women registered there is 12.7 percent in the entire country.

The situation is similar in Andhra Pradesh. The number of women living there is 7.3 percent, but the cases of crime against women registered there are 11.5 percent in the entire country.