Article on Moral Policing

Moral Policing is an umbrella category of vigilante groups that act to enforce a code of morality in India. It is a system to restrict the persons who breach the basic standards of our society. It is a system where strict vigil and restrictions are imposed on those who violate the basic standards of our society, which can be found in its cultures, age-old customs and religious doctrines. It is a situation where the moral character of an individual is questioned by those who advocate this phenomenon. Some of India's laws and some actions of police forces in India are also considered to be instances of moral policing.

Mob Lynching: Lynching, is a form of violence in which a mob, under the pretext of administering justice without trial, executes a presumed offender, often after inflicting torture and corporal mutilation.

Cultural terrorism: Various extra-constitutional actors like Anti-Romeo Squads imposes their subjective belief through the use of physical violence.

Honour Killing: Honor killings are one of the extreme cases of moral policing which supposedly curtail Western influences by encroaching on Individual freedom.

Affecting Fundamental Rights: There are many times when moral policing hinders the basic fundamental rights of the citizen enshrined in the constitution such as the right to freedom of speech and expression, right to privacy, right to live with dignity, etc. For example, due to moral policing, the LGBT+ community faces extreme consequences and their basic right to life and liberty has been threatened.

Factors affecting moral policing:

Social Networking Platform: Platforms like WhatsApp and Facebook act as a catalyst towards moral policing, as they can amplify the spread of fake news. Fake news can lead to events like Lynching, Communal clashes, etc.

Patriarchy: People with a patriarchal mindset view the security of women as their duty, for they are perceived as the weaker sex and gullible. Due to this, they would impose restrictions on women in terms of speech, attitude, clothing, public behaviour, etc.

Overreach by Police: The police is a public organization that is given extraordinary powers to use force. This leaves Police sometimes overreaching their powers. The Immoral Traffic (Prevention) Act (PITA) was originally passed to prevent human trafficking. However, it has been used by police to raid hotels if they suspect a sex racket being run there even without proper evidence thus embarrassing legal and young couples.

Cases of moral policing:

In November 2014, a popular ‘Kiss of Love’ protest against vigilantism ended in violence although it initiated similar movements across the country. It was vociferously opposed by right-wing political groups.

In 2011, a young man was assaulted by a group of men who were opposed to his love affair with a woman. He succumbed to injuries the next day. Three years later, nine members of the gang were found guilty by a district sessions court.

Two persons have been arrested in connection with an incident of moral policing and assaulting a group of schoolchildren at a bus stop at Mannarkkad. Siddiq (50) and Hareesh (28) were arrested for allegedly beating up and abusing school students, including girls, who were waiting at a bus stop on Friday evening. “We were a group of boys and girls waiting at the bus stop. Our principal in charge was also with us. Suddenly, one person came and abused a girl from our group. When we questioned them, other locals joined him and started beating us. This is not the first incident. The local people always make an issue when they see boys and girls together,” a student told the media.

Moral policing in our constitution

There is no specific law that directly deals with moral policing. However, the actions of moral policing can be punished under different sections of the Indian Penal Code (IPC). There have been many instances where cases were filed in courts against actions that were deemed to be moral policing. In those cases, the courts of India have given verdicts that do not encourage moral policing either by Government or law enforcement agencies or by vigilante groups.

Article By: Niharika Birari (Writing Associate, TAO)

Design By: Shefali Sinha (Design Lead, TAO)