Voyerism and Stalking

Voyeurism
Introduction
Voyeurism is the most prevalent and potentially illegal sexual conduct. It
is the practice of watching other people's sexual activities without their
consent. In this type of offense, physical contact is not there, even if the
sexual crime is in nature. According to the recent reports by NCRB, the
total cases of voyeurism disposed of by Police in the year 2021 is 1403.
Voyeurism meaning
The origin of the word “voyeurism” is voyeur, which is a French word
meaning “one who looks.” It refers to an action by any male of looking at
a woman secretly. It is an act that invades someone else's personal space
and privacy. Putting someone in a position where you determine whether
or not to see their body or personal activities is atrocious and more
damaging to their mental health than it is to their physical health. This
can occur either by unauthorized observation, like installing a camera in
the courtroom, or through the dissemination of recordings or images
against the victim's choice and preference, such as posting nude or semi-
naked photos online.
Landmark judgments
In the case of State v. Shailesh (2019), Justice Susheel Bala Dagar held
that voyeurism is a ridiculous type of enjoyment for men whereas it
causes mental trauma to women. Such acts infringe the Right to privacy
of women and she feels unsafe in the places which are generally meant to
be safe for women. In this case, the Supreme Court reiterated the
judgment of R. Rajgopal v. the State of Tamil Nadu (1995) and stated that
the Right to Privacy also employs the ‘right of being left alone’.
In the case of Rahul v. State (2020), the appeal was filed by the accused
who was convicted by the trial court under Sections 376(2)(n), 354C, 506 of
Indian Penal Code,1860 in the High Court. But the High Court upheld the
decision of the trial court and the accused was convicted for the offense of
rape and video graphing the same while clicking nude images of the victim.
In the case of State v. Unknown, 2017, it was held that to prove the case
under Section 354, IPC the video taken by the accused should contain
obscene footage.
Issues related to the enforcement of law

Despite the amendments and introduction of laws to criminalize
voyeurism, women in India are still subjected to such atrocities and
suffer. Some of the reasons behind the lack of effectiveness of the law of
voyeurism are:-
In some cases, the victim herself is not aware of the fact that her pictures
are leaked or disseminated so no cases are filed against the offender.
The victims are often blackmailed regarding the circulation of such images
on the internet which forces them to shut their mouths and suffer torture.
Victims sometimes do not file cases as they are concerned about their
image and reputation in society.
Some victims of voyeurism are not even aware of the law present to deal
with such instances.
And as our present law only probes and takes action against the offender
when a complaint is filed, most of the cases are not reported so these
offenders roam free to prey on another victim.
Stalking
Introduction
Stalking generally means following someone either online or physically in
the absence of their consent with a motive to establish personal
interaction with such a person even after they have dissented to it.
Stalking is a punishable offence under the Indian Penal Code, although
the Code provides for punishment for stalking only against women.
Stalking under the Indian Penal Code is recognised as a cognizable,
bailable and non-compoundable offence. Stalking has made a serious
impact on the physical and mental health of young women. Most victims
face stress and social anxiety as a result of the trauma of being stalked
along with having to move locations, change jobs, having emergency
contacts and undisclosed weapons.
Background
A committee was formed to bring changes to the criminal justice system.
Formed on December 23rd 2013, the Committee consisted of Justice J.S
Verma as chairman, Justice Leila Seth and senior Advocate Gopal
Subramaniam.
Stalking was introduced under Section 354D as an offence by the
committee under the Criminal Law (Amendment) Act of 2013 and a report
was submitted on January 23rd 2013.
Case laws concerning Section 354D IPC

In the case of Shri Deu Baju Bodake v. The State of Maharashtra
(2016) Bombay High Court dealt with suicide by a woman who
ascertained the reason for her suicide was consistent harassment and
stalking by the perpetrator. Not only did the accused harass and stalk her
while she was at work he also demanded to get married to her despite
her disinterest and dissent. The High Court held it imperative to record
Section 354D along with abetment to suicide to punish the accused.
Arvind Kumar Gupta v. State 2018, a man followed her to her office and
stood next to where she stayed, by the time she returned from work. This
continued for a year until the woman’s brother confronted the man who said
that the girl reminded him of someone and was intending to marry her. The
woman filed an FIR and in the trial, the man could not plead his defence. The
prosecution was able to prove that he followed her constantly even after she
was not interested. The prosecution was able to prove that he followed her
constantly even after she was not interested. It was decided by the court
that the man was guilty of stalking the woman as per Section 354D(1)(i), he
was without reasonable doubt wanting to interact with her even after she
expressed her dissent. The court awarded him with simple imprisonment and
a fine.
Conclusion
The Indian Penal Code has played a pivotal role in making a framework
for provisions for women. The code attempts to cover all crimes against
women of all ages, right from the Prenatal stage covering childhood,
adolescence, reproductive age and offences against elderly women, for
example, there have been several cases of abuse of widows.
Most cases of stalking go unnoticed because women do not want to risk
the freedom of being able to move around and many eyewitnesses ignore
it, this has rendered the offence be not taken seriously at all even if there
is a provision to punish it. With awareness and education on how to react
in situations of being stalked or invoking Section 354D to report the
crime, file an FIR and approach the right authorities, a change can be
brought.

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Voyeurism

Issues related to the enforcement of law

Case laws concerning Section 354D IPC

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