Indecent Representation of Women Act 1986, Throughout the course of the previous ten years, women’s organisations have been vocal about their dissatisfaction with the way the media portrays people of their gender. Women’s troubles with the portrayal of advertising that push parents to save dowries for the child; the equation of a ‘nice’ lady with a wife; a vegetable oil brand that equates to motherhood; and so on and so forth. It is correct to say that fewer advertisements encouraging the practise of dowry have appeared in recent years as a direct result of agitation among women’s organisations. Yet, such initiatives have very little impact on commercials that promote sexist stereotypes and pornographic images, which have, if anything, increased over the past few years.
Also Read 5 Revealing Thing about Right to Life and Die
The law intends to control how women are portrayed in the various parts of Indian mass media in the present day, taking into consideration the socioeconomic structure of India. While dealing with a population that is so diverse culturally, it is imperative that special consideration be given to the sentiments of the community, and that the state be safeguarded at the same time. In India, morality is still very much a matter of personal interpretation, and it represents a diverse assortment of historically and culturally shifting beliefs and attitudes.
It is also too difficult because there is no evidence to show how many women are subjected to such indecent treatment beneath creamy and non-creamy layers of the economy. This makes it difficult to establish and investigate the causes and effects of the behaviour. Similar to how it is difficult to view the cause-and-effect relationship from the perspective of society, it is possible to understand, based on the impacts illustrated in various media, that this kind of disgraceful portrayal of women leads to a societal environment deterioration, which manifests as ever-increasing crime and abuse against the individual. However, it is difficult to view the cause-and-effect relationship from the perspective of society.
The Central Government of India passed the Indecent Representation of Women Act in 1986 with the intention of putting a stop to this type of criminal activity. This law penalizes those who commit such offences and makes it illegal to depict women in a manner that is obscene or indecent.
An overview of the legislative background
The introduction of the Rajya Sabha Bill against Women’s Indecent Representation in 1986 was a response to a women’s movement that called for legislative action against the negative depiction of women in the country. The movement demanded that a legislative action be taken against the negative depiction of women in the country. Margaret Alva was the one who initially proposed the measure in the Rajya Sabha, and it was enacted into law a few months later in October of 1987.
The act was drafted with the intention of regulating the portrayal of women and other groups in mainstream media, particularly in print. It was implemented to ensure that women’s portrayal in the media, such as advertisements, periodicals, publications, and illustrations, did not depict women in a manner that was deemed inappropriate.
The Act’s Desired End Result
In this country, the law of obscenity is written down in sections, specifically Section 292, Section 293, and Section 294 of the Indian Criminal Code. In spite of these rules, there is a growing trend in publications, particularly ads, of indecent representations of women or references to women. These representations and references not only have the impact of degrading women, but they are also derogatory to women. These commercials, magazines, and other forms of media all have a corrupting or depraving influence, even if that was not the goal of the creators. So, a distinct piece of regulation is required in order to effectively restrict the uncertain representation of women in mediums such as commercials, novels, pamphlets, and the like.
The meaning of the word “indecent”
The term “indecent representation” is defined as “indecent representation of women” in any way to have the effect of being indignant or derogative of a woman, or of being corrupt or of being susceptible to public morality, or moralistic depravity. This definition is found in Section 2(c) of the Indecent Representation of Women Act, which was passed in 1986. The definition of the term “indecent representation” that can be found in the law that was passed in 1986 places an emphasis on “depriving or corrupting” content; nonetheless, this is sometimes confused with morality. In the 1970s and 1980s, women’s organisations protested the indecent portraiture of women, which primarily focused on nudity and sexually provocative or overtly typical portrayal of women. As a result, this protest strengthened the belief that the expression of sexuality, in particular the expression of a woman, is an obscenity.
The action was taken against the editor of Anandabazar Patrika, Aveek Sarkar, and the publisher at a court of law in Kolkata in connection with the portrayal of the nude image of the former player Boris Becker and of his fiancée at Sportsworld, which was released by the corporation in May 1993. The action was taken against Aveek Sarkar. According to the National Crime Records Bureau, the number of Individual Female Représentation Cases decreased by 46.50 percent between the years 2005 and 2006, going from 2,917 to 1,562 respectively.
In April 2006, a Madurai court issued non-bailable warrants against Reema Sen and Shilpa Shetty for posing in an obscene manner in photographs that were published by a Tamil newspaper. The warrants were issued because the photographs showed the two women. According to the findings of the investigation, the two actresses had ignored previous summonses for the same reason, which resulted in the issuance of warrants for their arrest. The petitioner claimed that the newspaper violated the Obscene Representation of Women (Prohibition) Act 1986, the Young Persons (Harmful Publications) Act 1956, and Indian Penal Code Section 292 when it published “very sexy blow-ups and medium blow-ups” in its issues from December 2005 and January 2006. The petitioner’s claims were presented in the paper’s issues from December 2005 and January 2006, respectively. In addition, the plaintiff requested that the images be seized in accordance with the provisions of the Press and Registration of Book Act of 1867.
Authorities that are granted to officers and the government by the Act
The Indecent Representation of Women Act criminalizes depictions of women that are immoral, degrading, or otherwise violate public morals or moral standards in any way. This includes any aspect of a woman’s body, including her form or figure, as well as any part of the woman’s body. According to what it says, no one is allowed to publish or release any advertisements that feature an offensive portrayal of women, and no one is allowed to accept to take part in the publishing or show.
Power to enter and search, as outlined in Section 5
The officer possesses the authority to enter and search any premises within the territory thanks to Section 5 of the Indecent Representation of Women Act, which was passed in 1986.
(1) Each gazette officer that has been approved by the State Government has the authority, within the local limits of the region for which it is so authorized, subject to any restrictions that may be imposed, to:
He is authorized to enter and search, at any reasonable time, any location where he believes it necessary to believe that an offence in violation of this Act has been committed or is being committed, with such assistance; He is authorized to seize any advertisement or book, pamphlet, paper, slide, film, writing, drawing, painting, photograph, representation, or figure that it believes to contravene any of the provisions of this Law; He is authorized to examine, and is granted the power to seize, any record, register, document,
Provided that an individual’s home cannot be searched without a valid search warrant in accordance with the provisions of this article:
In addition, a sub-section of this states that the power to seize may be exercised in regard to any document, article, or item containing such an advertisement, including the contents, if any, of such a document, article, or item, where the advertisement cannot be separated from such a document, article, or item as a result of it being embossed or otherwise from such a document, article, or item without affecting the integrity or use of such a document, article, or item.
(2) The provisions of the Criminal Procedure Code of 1973 (2 of 1974), to the extent that they are applicable, shall apply to any search or seizure carried out under the authority of a warrant issued in accordance with Section 94 of that Law, in respect to any search or seizure carried out under this Act in respect to any search or seizure carried out under the authority of this Act.
(3) If a person seizes something that is mentioned in clause (b) or clause (c) of subsection (1), that person is required to contact the nearest Magistrate as soon as practicable and follow the Magistrate’s directions regarding the custody of the item that was seized.
Section 6 addresses punishments.
The offender is subject to a punishment under Section 6 of the Indecent Representation of Women Act, which was passed in 1986. The terms and a fine which may extend to ten thousand rupees and the terms if a second or subsequent prosecution occurs, the penalty may not be less than six months but may extend to five years and may also extend, at least, to ten thousand rupees shall substitute for words or a fine which may exceed two thousand rupees. In addition, the penalty may not be less than ten thousand rupees if a second or subsequent prosecution occurs. However, the words “in case of a second or later conviction to a sentence of not less than six months but which may extend up to five years and not less than fifty thousand rupees but which may extend up to five lakh rupees” will be replaced by the words “in case of a second or later conviction to a sentence of not less than six months but which may extend up to five years.” They will not serve more than five years of their sentence.
Infractions that are to be cognizable and bailable are outlined in Section 8.
An offence that is punishable in accordance with this Act is to be bailable, despite the fact that all of the provisions of the Criminal Procedure Code, 1973 (2 of 1974), state that such an offence cannot be, according to Section 8 of the Indecent Representation of Women Act, which was passed in 1986. In addition, there will be legal repercussions for committing any of the offences listed in this Act.
Protection of actions committed in good faith is the focus of Section 9.
The Central Government, any government or other central government officer, or any other State government official shall not be liable against any action, prosecution, or other legal proceedings for anything done or intended in good faith in accordance with this Act. This provision is found in Section 9 of the Indecent Representation of Women Act, which was passed in 1986.
Section 10: the authority to create regulations
According to the Indecent Representation of Women Act, which was passed in 1986, Section 10 of the Act specifies that the Central Government has the authority to adopt laws by publishing a notification in the official gazette. In specifically, these rules can address all of the following difficulties, or only one of them, without affecting the general applicability of the preceding force, i.e.:
the manner in which advertisements or other items are to be seized, as well as the manner in which a seizure list is to be compiled and submitted to the person from whom any advertisements or other things were seized; any additional stuff that may or may not be necessary to be regulated.
Any rule that is made in accordance with this Act is required to be laid down before each House of Parliament as soon as possible after it has been made, while it is in session for a total period of thirty days, which may consist of one session or two or more successive sessions, and if both Houses agree to make any amendments before the end of the session immediately following the session or the successive sessions referred to above, then those amendments must be made.
The need for a brand new statute
Within the scope of the Act, “advertisement” refers to any note, publication, sticker, packaging, or other document, as well as any visual representation made through any light, sound, smoke, or gas. The National Commission for Women is proposing a change to the definition of “advertisement” in order to include any sign, circle, sticker, poster, wrapper, or other document, in addition to any visible representation rendered by any laser light, sound, smoke, gas, fibre, electronic optic, or other medium. This amendment is part of a larger effort to amend the definition of “advertisement.” It states that no person shall produce, sell, employ, distribute, circulate, or mail any book, pamphlet, document, slide, video, writing, drawing, painting, image, depiction, or figure that contains any indecent representation of women. This includes the right to produce, sell, employ, distribute, circulate, or mail such a work. Along with the addition of the adjective “indecent,” the Commission has also suggested including the term “degrading.”
The purpose of the Indecent Representation of Women (Prohibition) Bill 2012 is to address the problem of objectification of women in addition to putting more of an emphasis on the inclusion of women in audiovisual and electronic communications media. This is done in order to reform the system that is currently in place. In addition to guaranteeing that the media would cover the issue in all of its facets, the regulatory system must also be written into the law. A strict compliance process that behaves in a dissuasive manner in which any indecent behavior that opposes the law is prohibited is also outlined by the law. This mechanism ensures that the law is followed.
Two of the most significant alterations that are brought about by the Bill are those regarding what kinds of advertisements will be subject to the scope of the Bill in the event that it is passed, as well as those regarding what kinds of delivery will warrant the punitive provisions of the newly amended regulatory framework. The proposed system was designed in such a way as to include electronic delivery modes for such material together with print and digital media as well as traditional ways of distribution for the content.
Conclusion
The Act without a doubt established women’s indecent representation, but the aforementioned explanation does not cover all. It is up to the courts to decide how it should be interpreted. It is a successful law for safeguarding women’s integrity and upholding women’s reputations, however the effectiveness of these laws depends on their application to be fully realized. The act gave any gazette officer the authority to search for and seize immoral material without a warrant, which led to widespread instances of corrupt behavior. In addition, the nature of the penal requirements is not particularly stringent, the amount of the fine is significantly lower, and the punishment for repeat offenders is less severe. On the other hand, if the purpose of Section 292 of the IPC is to regulate and control obscenity and indecent representation of women, then the expression of other general subjects of concern must be eliminated from the derogations. This is because the IPC was written with this purpose in mind. As a result, rigorous regulations are necessary in order to effectively handle the offensive advertisements.
