NATIONAL LAW INSTITUTE UNIVERSITY, BHOPAL

ENGLISH - 3
PROJECT ON

Kiss of love
- an obscenity or an
expression

SUBMITTED TO: SUBMITTED BY:

PROF.( Dr.) MUKESH SRIVASTAVA ARPIT SHIVHARE
ROLL NO.-2014BALLB04

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 ACKNOWLEDGEMENT

I would like to begin with acknowledging our Professor Dr. Mukesh Srivastav who gave us this

opportunity to work on a project work, giving us full autonomy to choose our topics as well as

guidance where ever needed.

I would also like to thank the director of the university and the administration who have given us

all the requisite facilities like library, wi-fi connection, computer lab, photo stat which make the

task much easier and efficient.

Also, I would like to extend my gratefulness to my batch mates and parents who have supported

me throughout in this Endeavour.

Arpit Shivhare

2014BALLB04

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 TABLE OF CONTENT

Heading Page No.

OBJECTIVE4

SCOPE OF PROJECT.4

INTRODUCTION...5

BACKGROUND.6

PUBLIC KISSING- AN EXPRESSION NOT AN OBSCENITY ......................7

PUBLIC KISSING- AN OBSCENITY NOT AN EXPRESSION.......................9

CONCLUSION.......................................................................................12

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 OBJECTIVE

To understand the two contrasting views regarding this issue.

To analyze the legal framework and societal norms which prevent the public display of
affection.

SCOPE OF PROJECT

The scope of this project is limited to understand and analyze with neutrality, the two opposite
approaches i.e. of the persons who are in favour and of the persons who are against the kissing in
public, in the form of arguments.

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 INTRODUCTION

It has been said that the moral standards of the community are changing with the change of time
and so as the form of their displaying affection. Kissing in public places has been the debatable
issue in India because of the so called Indian culture. No one knows what is the meaning of
Indian culture? When the youth of this generation has been consistently denying the restrictions
that society imposes on them on the basis of morality, cultural tradition etc., at the same time it
may be argued that the youth is not always right in bypassing the social norms. There must be
some level of decency to maintain that the society in which our children will grow up do not
impact them adversely at the very early age.

Kiss of Love protest is a non-violent protest against moral policing which started
in Kerala, India and later spread to other parts of India. The movement began when
a Facebook page called 'Kiss of love' called forth the youth across Kerala to participate in a
protest against moral policing on November 2, 2014, at Marine Drive, Cochin. The movement
received widespread support with more than 1,54,404 'Likes' for the Facebook page. After the
initial protest in Kochi, similar protests were organised in other major cities of the country. It
received opposition from various religious and political groups likeBharatiya Janata Yuva
Morcha, SDPI, Vishva Hindu Parishad, Shiv Sena, Bajrang Dal, Hindu Sena
and Ernakulam wing ofKerala Students Union.

This protest has again raised the issue of Public Display of Affection (PDA). It has been the long
controversy that whether showing the affection in public can be adopted as a part of changing
Indian culture or it just strike at the very foundation of Indian culture and cannot be acceptable in
any for

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 BACKGROUND

There were several instances of moral policing in Kerala in the 2000s. In 2011, a 26-year-old
youth was killed by a mob in Kodiyathur, Kerala, for allegedly having an affair with a married
woman. All of the accused were sentenced to life imprisonment in October 2014. In June 2014, a
female theatre artiste and her male colleague were detained in police custody for traveling
together at night, which stirred protests against moral policing on social media. In July 2013,
police arrested a couple from a beach in Alappuzha for suspected immoral activity as the
woman was not wearing any accessories to suggest that she was married. In April 2013, an artist
from Kochi was harassed by two policewomen when she went for a stroll on Marine Drive with
a male friend. In June 2012, a gang of men attacked and beat up a pregnant woman sitting alone
in a bus shelter in Kannur. The woman's husband had asked her to rest while he went to a nearby
ATM since she was heavily pregnant. In June 2011, An IT professional, on her way to work at
Kochi's IT park, was accosted by a group of drunken men because she was riding pillion on a
male colleague's bike. The drunken men argued with her, and then abused and slapped her.
Several similar cases have been reported throughout Kerala.

The Kiss of Love protest was sparked off in October 2014 when Jai Hind TV, a Malayalam news
channel owned by the Indian National Congress, telecast an exclusive report on alleged immoral
activity at the parking space of Downtown Cafe in Kozhikode. The video showed a young couple
kissing and hugging each other. A mob of attackers, who were later identified as belonging to
the Bharatiya Janata Yuva Morcha vandalized the cafe following the report. Following this,
Rahul Pasupalan, a short film maker from Kerala, and a group of friends from a Facebook page
called 'Freethinkers', started the Facebook page 'Kiss of Love'. Activists from all over Kerala
decided to protest against the series of moral policing incidents by organizing a public event at
Marine Drive beach on November 2 in Kochi.

On 2 November 2014, several activists gathered at Marine Drive, Kochi to express solidarity to
the movement against moral policing. A peaceful march was planned from the campus
of Ernakulam Law College to the venue. during which the police took around 50 activists into
preventive custody citing law and order issues. The protest was very popular on social

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networking sites and news media.The opposing groups allegedly compelled the Facebook
authorities block the Kiss of Love page through mass reporting on November 3.

PUBLIC KISSING- AN EXPRESSION NOT AN OBSCENITY

Kissing is a form of an expression and is guaranteed as the Fundamental Right to

freedom of speech and expression guaranteed under Article 19 (1)(a) of the Indian
Constitution and state cannot take away the right to speech and expression provided to
Indian citizen.
The rights enumerated in Article 19(1) are those great and basic rights which are
recognized as the natural rights inherent in the status of a citizen.
In the Preamble to the Constitution of India the people of India declared their solemn
resolve to secure to all its citizens liberty of thought and expression.
The public kissing is not subject to reasonable restrictions placed under Article 19(2) of
the Constitution of India which says Nothing in sub clause (a) of clause ( 1 ) shall
affect the operation of any existing law, or prevent the State from making any law, in so
far as such law imposes reasonable restrictions on the exercise of the right conferred by
the said sub clause in the interests of the sovereignty and integrity of India, the security
of the State, friendly relations with foreign States, public order, decency or morality or in
relation to contempt of court, defamation or incitement to an offence.
The scope of the word morality is not very clear. The conception of morality differs
from place to place and from time to time. Thus, birth control and contraceptives were
considered as immoral at one time and there have been convictions for publishing
literature dealing with contraception. But now the view has changed and it is no offence
to discuss such matters. Where the discretion have been left with the executive authority
to impose restriction in the exercise of any of the rights, such law cannot be held to be
reasonable.
Decency indicates that the action must be in conformity with the current standards of
behaviour or propriety. Kissing in public places is at par with the current standards of
behaviour, therefore the reasonable restriction on the basis of decency or morality cannot
be imposed.

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 Section 294 of the Indian Penal Code, 1860 ordains that whoever to the annoyance of
others,
(a) does any obscene act in public place, or
(b) sings, recites or utters any Obscene songs, ballad or words, in or near any public place,
shall be punished with imprisonment of either description for a term which may extend to
three months, or with fine, or with both.
The term obscenity has not been defined under the I.P.C. the test of obscenity is of a
general character by indicating a line of demarcation not necessarily sharp but
sufficiently distinct to distinguish between that which is obscene and that which is not.
There is a very thin line difference between an act which is obscene and which is not.

The word obscene must be defined having regards to the contemporary societal
practices. The standards in India are fast changing. The adults and adolescents have
available to them a large number of classics, novels, stories and pieces of literature which
have a content of sex, love and romance.

The movement against moral policing in the state of India received widespread support
with more than 1,83,000 'Likes' for the Facebook page. Thus it is clearly concluded that
community standards are changing in India and there is a widespread acceptance of
expression of love by couples in public places.
In movies and other modes of cinematography kissing is very well being depicted which
in the present era of cinematography is well being accepted.
On the basis of above arguments, we can conclude that the public kissing is an form of
expression and not the obscene and immoral act per se.

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 PUBLIC KISSING- AN OBSCENITY NOT AN EXPRESSION

The test of obscenity is this, whether the tendency of the matter charged as obscene is
to deprive and corrupt those whose minds are open to such immoral influences.
It is obscenity that is capable of depraving and corrupting those whose minds are
open to such immoral influences. Standard of annoyance is that of an ordinary
prudent man in the contemporary public life having regard to the standards of
contemporary public life.
The definition of obscenity differs from culture to culture, between communities
within a single culture, and also between individuals within those communities.
The concept of obscenity differs from country to country depending on the standards
and morals of contemporary society, what is considered as an obscene act in France
would not be considered as an obscene act in England, what is considered as not
obscene or harmful to public order or morals in both the countries may be considered
as obscene in our country.

Even though in the Indian society the standards of morality are fast changing but it is
not so changed that it can entertain public kissing. The India being a traditionally rich
country cannot accept acts which deprive and corrupt those whose minds are open to
such immoral influences.
The contention is not to prove a kiss per se obscene. The objection is to turning the
kiss into a public act. A vast section of Indian society is not yet prepared for this
change in the standards of their society. Intimacy is still preferred to be kept within
four walls. Country like India where censorship on Films are allowed, i.e. if they
contain any obscene scene, A certificates are issued to these types of films therefore
there exists no reason as to why kissing in public in India must not be considered as
an obscene act.
It is the duty of State to protect young against exploitation and moral deprivation and
kissing in public by couples would actually corrupt the minds of these youngs who
are in public and viewing those activities. The India, being a traditionally and
culturally rich country the standard of decency varies/differs accordingly and what

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 would be seen as obscene by one culture would not be seen as obscene under some
other culture, thus public kissing does have the tendency of depriving and
corrupting the minds of people and also gives rise to emotion of lewdness, filthiness
and repulsiveness.
The Indian culture is very different from the cultures of contemporary western
countries and things like public kissing are not at par with the community standards
of India.
Article 19(1)(a) of the Constitution of India ordains to freedom of speech and
expression granted to all the citizens of India. Freedom of a citizen under Article
19(1)(a) is not absolute. It is subject to reasonable restrictions and the same enables
making a law imposing reasonable restrictions on the exercise of the right in the
interest of inter alia public order, decency or morality.
The reasonable restrictions to this freedom of speech and expression is placed under
Article 19(2) of the Constitution of India which says Nothing in sub clause (a) of
clause ( 1 ) shall affect the operation of any existing law, or prevent the State from
making any law, in so far as such law imposes reasonable restrictions on the exercise
of the right conferred by the said sub clause in the interests of the sovereignty and
integrity of India, the security of the State, friendly relations with foreign States,
public order, decency or morality or in relation to contempt of court, defamation or
incitement to an offence.
Public Kissing is to be termed as an obscene act and not a fundamental right to
freedom of speech and expression as it is against the principle of decency or
morality which is mentioned as a reasonable restriction on the right to exercise free
speech and expression. Decency indicates that the action must be in conformity with
the current standards of behaviour or propriety. Obscene means offensive to modesty
or decency.

The moral values in particular, should not be allowed to be sacrificed in the guise of
social change or cultural assimilation. Our country has had the distinction of giving
birth to a galaxy of great sages and thinkers. The great thinkers and sages through
their life and conduct provided principles for people to follow the path of right
conduct.

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 On the basis of above arguments, we can say that the public kissing can be termed
as an indecent act and if allowed without imposing the restriction of S. 294 of I.P.C.,
would cause a serious threat to the cultural identity of our nation and would hurt the
cultural sentiments of a large group of people.

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 CONCLUSION

The debate around this controversy cannot be finished by the one protest. The clashes of
persons who have self assumed the task of protecting the Indian culture and those youth
which demand freedom in every aspect of life are likely to occur in future. Whether our
culture and moral values has changed that much that we can allow kissing in the public or
we are still the society where display of love and intimacy is allowed in the four walls
only? The answer to this question cannot be find out. The two perspectives will always
clash on this point. There is a very thin line between expression and obscenity but no one
can deny the fact that the demarcation is inevitable.

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