The Kerala High Court has ruled that making sexually suggestive comments about a woman’s body, such as referring to it as “fine,” qualifies as sexual harassment. This judgment, delivered by Justice A. Badharudeen, reinforces the legal boundaries around workplace conduct. The case involved a former employee of the Kerala State Electricity Board (KSEB), who was accused of making inappropriate remarks and sending lewd messages to a woman colleague over several years.
The incident began in 2017 when the accused allegedly made sexual comments about the woman’s body and followed it up with lewd text messages on multiple occasions. The complainant claimed the harassment had been ongoing since 2013, despite previous complaints to KSEB and the police. The accused tried to argue that comments about a woman’s body couldn’t be considered sexual harassment, but the court disagreed, emphasizing that such remarks were indeed sexually coloured and intended to harass.
The court dismissed the accused’s plea to quash the harassment charges, stating that the repeated inappropriate behavior clearly fell under Section 354A(1)(iv) and 509 of the Indian Penal Code, as well as Section 120(o) of the Kerala Police Act. The court’s ruling confirmed the sexual harassment charges against him, and the interim order against the prosecution was vacated.
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