look news india
Kolkata, July 29 (HS). Vehicle owners in Kolkata may now face legal action for displaying obscene, derogatory messages, posters or pictures on their vehicles. These messages may hurt sentiments related to caste, religion or gender. A senior Kolkata Police official gave this information.
According to the police, such obscene messages are usually seen on the rear of private buses and trucks. Kolkata Police shared a picture of a vehicle in a social media post on which the offensive message was written. Police said that such acts can give rise to defamation charges under Section 499 and 356 (i) BNS of the Indian Penal Code.
“The car sticker you see in the image… came to the attention of one of our colleagues while on duty. He initially found it to be hurtful and anti-women. Moreover, such an open provocative statement can be construed as defamation under the law, punishable under Section 499 IPC and 356(i) BNS,” Kolkata Police said in the post.
Police said they could have taken legal action, but instead decided to first approach the vehicle owner and appeal to his better sense.
By displaying such a general and negative statement, wasn't he also insulting the women in his own family? Fortunately, he understood the real intention behind our request and removed the sticker immediately, the police said.
The police further said, “We appreciate the cooperation of this citizen and urge everyone to help maintain the reputation of India's safest city for women.”
Displaying obscene, derogatory messages, posters and photographs that hurt someone's sentiments or are related to caste and religion are not permitted under the Motor Vehicles (MV) Act, a senior official of the Kolkata Police traffic department said.
