‘Indecent portrayal’ of women online may soon lead to jail, fines

THE ORIGINAL LAW, ENACTED IN 1986, RELATES PRIMARILY TO THE PRINT MEDIA. THE MINISTRY HAS NOW EXPANDED THE DEFINITION OF INDECENT REPRESENTATION

NEWDELHI: The Union women and child development (WCD) ministry has finalised fresh amendments to the Indecent Representation of Women (Prohibition) Act, 1986, widening its scope to make indecent portrayal of women on internet and other over-the-top services and applications such as WhatsApp and Instagram punishable with a fine of ~2 lakh, and prison term of up to three years, two ministry officials familiar with the development said on condition of anonymity.

The original law, enacted in 1986, relates primarily to the print media and prohibited indecent portrayal of women through advertisements, publication, writing and paintings. The current punishment is a prison term of up to two years and a fine of ~2,000.

The new penal provisions are similar to those provided under Section 67 of the Information Technology Act, 2000 that deals with publishing of information which is obscene in electronic form. The ministry has expanded the definition of indecent representation of women to include “depiction of women as a sexual object, which appeals to the prurient interest.”

“WCD minister Maneka Gandhi has cleared the proposed amendments on Monday. We will now send the draft to the law ministry. Once law ministry vets it, we will move the cabinet,” WCD secretary Rakesh Srivastava said.

Supreme court advocate Sanjay Parekh called the move to widen the scope of the law to include indecent portrayal of women on the online platform a “good move” that is long overdue. “Obscene portrayal of women on the online platform is on the rise. Also unlike print, the moment one puts such stuff (online) it goes viral, making it far more dangerous. In such a scenario it is imperative that we have a law address obscene portrayal of women online.”