IN A SIGNIFICANT AND MUCH-NEEDED PRONOUNCEMENT, a Delhi court, through Judicial Magistrate First Class (‘JMFC’) Harjot Singh Aujla of Dwarka courts, reaffirmed the legal and moral stance that the use of the term “r***i” (a derogatory Hindi term referring to a sex worker) directed at a woman constitutes an offence under Section 509 of the Indian Penal Code (‘IPC’). The judgment makes a clear and reasoned articulation that such words are not mere insults — they are gendered, sexually loaded, and intended to attack the dignity, character, and modesty of a woman.
The Court observed, “the word 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 and also shows that the word is intended to mean that the woman is promiscuous and it casts an aspersion on her character.”
While the term “modesty” in common English usage may denote honesty, truthfulness, humility, and self-respect, its meaning under Section 509 of the IPCcarries a distinct legal and gendered connotation. For the purposes of this provision, modesty refers specifically to a woman’s sexual dignity and sanctity — a recognition of her bodily autonomy and the respect she is entitled to in relation to her sexual personhood.
Every woman possesses an inherent sense of self-worth concerning her body, particularly her sexual and reproductive identity. This personal dignity is not merely individual, it is also reflected and reinforced by the expectations of a civilised society, which recognises and upholds the sanctity of a woman’s body. The law acknowledges that women, by virtue of the patriarchal structures they navigate daily, are often sexually vulnerable, subjected to words and actions intended to shame, humiliate, or assert control over them. It is this vulnerability that Section 509 IPC is designed to protect. The provision exists not to moralise, but to protect a woman’s right to live free from verbal sexual aggression, from derogatory gestures or remarks that violate her sense of safety, honour, and self.
