In a significant ruling, a Delhi court has held that referring to a woman as ‘randi’ — a term denoting a sex worker — constitutes an offence under Section 509 of the Indian Penal Code for insulting a woman’s modesty. The Court observed that such language is not a mere insult but a direct assault on a woman’s dignity and character.
Judicial Magistrate First Class (JMFC) Harjot Singh Aujila of the Dwarka Courts made the observation while convicting Vikrant Grewal, who had threatened and harassed a woman both over phone and at her residence in 2021.
“The word ‘randi’ is not a word which is used simply to insult a person. The word is bound to insult the modesty of any hardworking woman. Especially, when this word is used to a woman, it denotes that the said woman is not loyal… It directly hits at the sex of a woman and casts an aspersion on her character,” the Court said.
Grewal had used highly offensive and threatening language, including:
“Darwaja khol de mujhe tere saath sex karna hai”,
“Randi tujhe mai bataunga bahut samajhdar apne to samajahti hai”, and
“Randi Darwaja Khol de nahi to mai tujhe chodunga nahi.”
The Court further noted that he used threats such as “Darwaja nahi khola toh goli maar dunga”, which clearly amounts to criminal intimidation under Section 503 IPC.
Despite attempts by the defense to discredit the complainant’s testimony, the Court said:
“The testimony of PW1 is clear, cogent, reliable, trustworthy and she has not deviated from her statement u/s 164 Cr.P.C. During the cross-examination, nothing material has come up… to shake her credibility.”
The defense also objected to the admissibility of WhatsApp messages under Section 65B of the Indian Evidence Act. However, the Court rejected the argument since the accused had voluntarily admitted to sending the messages.
“In lieu of Section 58 of the Indian Evidence Act, which states that facts admitted need not be proved, argument raised by the defense is rejected,” it ruled.
Grewal was convicted for both outraging the modesty of a woman and criminal intimidation. The matter is now listed for sentencing on July 27.
Case: State vs Vikrant Grewal – Available on LAWFYI.IO
