Kerala HC Refuses To Declare ‘Breastfeeding Woman On Magazine’s Cover’ As Obscene
In what has come as a relief for Malayalam magazine Grihalakshmi, the Kerala High Court has recently refused to categorise its cover of a woman breastfeeding a baby as obscene.
The court noted that “shocking one’s morals” is an “elusive concept”, and that “one man’s vulgarity is another man’s lyric”.
Legal affairs site Livelaw.in reports that the first bench comprising then Chief Justice Antony Dominic and Justice Dama Seshadri Naidu observed, “We do not see, despite our best efforts, obscenity in the picture, nor do we find anything objectionable in the caption, for men. We looked at the picture with the same eyes we look at the paintings of artists like Raja Ravi Varma. As the beauty lie in the beholder’s eye, so does obscenity perhaps.”
They also observed that even the sections charged by the petitioner Felix, fail to convince them that the magazine committed any offence that affected the “society’s moral fabric”.
Dismissing the petition, the High Court ruled, “Going by the contemporary community standards and without troubling ourselves with patent offensiveness—we may observe that, given the picture’s particular posture and its background setting (mother feeding the baby), as depicted in the magazine, it is not prurient or obscene; nor even suggestive of it. We, therefore, dismiss the writ petition.”
According to reports by the Livelaw.in, the petitioner, Felix MA had contended that the magazine cover violated provisions of the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences Act and Rules, as well as Section 45 of the Juvenile Justice Act. He had also alleged violation of provisions of the Indecent Representation of Women (prohibition) Act, 1986 and Article 39(e) and (f) of the constitution of India.
The March 2018 issue of Grihalakshmi magazine cover carried an image of a woman breastfeeding a baby for a campaign for open breastfeeding.
This sparked an outrage leading to a case being filed at the Court of Judicial Magistrate in Kollam by advocate Vinod Mathew against the publishers and the model Gilu Joseph, who was on the cover.
Another advocate, Jiyas Jamal from Aluva, lodged a complaint with the State Child Rights Commission against Gilu, the publishers of Grihalakshmi and the parents of the baby who was featured.
“The March 2018 issue of Mathrubhumi Grihalakshmi, in its cover, uses a newborn baby to create a picture of a breastfeeding mother. An unmarried Jilu Joseph, who is an advertisement model, has posed as the mother who is breastfeeding the baby in the cover photo of the magazine. The model’s breast which is bereft of milk is stuffed into the child’s mouth and this is how the photo is captured. In this manner, the baby’s health and rights have been exploited. Using the child for commercial purposes is indeed a grave issue. Such incidents which attempt to commercialise motherhood and breastfeeding put the rights of newborn babies in danger. The cover, which tricked the baby into thinking that it the model is its mother and that it will get milk is an embarrassment to our society as a whole,” the complaint read.
courtesy : thenewsminute.com
Let the Truth be known. If you read VB and like VB, please be a VB Supporter and Help us deliver the Truth to one and all.
K’taka bypolls: Cong accepts Minority dept chief’s resignation amid claims of ‘internal conspiracy’
Bengaluru (PTI): Karnataka Congress president D K Shivakumar on Sunday accepted the resignation of party Minority Department chairman K Abdul Jabbar and dissolved the committees constituted under him.
Jabbar announced his resignation on Saturday, a day after a group of Muslim leaders accused members of their own party of “conspiring” to defeat the official candidate in Davanagere South.
In his letter to the party, Jabbar said minority voters and office-bearers are the backbone of the Congress and deserve better.
Later, speaking to reporters, he expressed shock at the party office being used by some minority community leaders as a platform to attack senior leaders from the same community.
Jabbar, an MLC, was an aspirant for the Congress ticket from the Davanagere South Assembly segment.
“K Abdul Jabbar has tendered his resignation from the post of chairman, KPCC Minority Department. The resignation has been accepted, and he stands relieved of the post with immediate effect. Further, the KPCC Minority Department committee stands dissolved with immediate effect,” Shivakumar said in a statement.
A rift surfaced within the Karnataka Congress on Friday, a day after bypolls to two Assembly constituencies, as a group of Muslim leaders alleged an “internal conspiracy” by some senior party leaders to defeat the official candidate in Davanagere South, where the minority community has a significant presence.
They said the party had named Samarth Mallikarjun as the candidate after considering all factors and taking Muslim leaders into confidence. Despite this, a campaign—allegedly involving some within the party—projected the Congress as having “betrayed” minorities by denying them the ticket.
Chief Whip in the Legislative Council Saleem Ahmed, MLAs Rizwan Arshad and Yasir Ahmed Khan Pathan, MLC Bilkis Bano and other leaders addressed a joint press conference on Friday, alleging an “internal conspiracy”.
Though the leaders did not name anyone, party sources said their remarks were directed at State Housing Minister B Z Zameer Ahmed Khan, Jabbar, and MLC and Political Secretary to the Chief Minister Naseer Ahmed.
Khan, who had openly demanded the Davanagere South ticket for a Muslim candidate, initially stayed away from campaigning in the constituency, citing commitments related to the Kerala polls. However, he later addressed a press meet with Samarth’s father and Minister S S Mallikarjun at the request of Chief Minister Siddaramaiah.
Jabbar, too, had not actively participated in campaigning, despite hailing from Davanagere.
Meanwhile, MLA Arshad said on Sunday that the party leadership was aware of those who allegedly tried to divide Congress votes and help the BJP. “But, thankfully, none of this has had any impact, and the Congress candidate will win,” he said.
He also alleged that Muslims lost the Davanagere South ticket because some senior minority leaders demanded it exclusively for Jabbar, rather than for any other eligible candidate from the community, despite Jabbar not being acceptable to all.
“Some leaders in the Congress think they are the only voice of the minority community and that there is no one else,” said Arshad, who represents the Shivajinagar constituency in Bengaluru.
Bypolls for Davanagere South and Bagalkot were held on Thursday. The elections were necessitated following the deaths of sitting MLAs Shamanur Shivashankarappa and H Y Meti, respectively. Samarth is the grandson of Shivashankarappa.
Muslim disgruntlement appears to be a concern for the Congress in Davanagere South. With 14 of the 25 candidates in the fray belonging to the community, the party fears a split in votes that could benefit the BJP.
Given its significant presence in the constituency, the Muslim community had strongly demanded the Congress ticket. Some party factions had opposed giving it to the Shamanur family.
Although the Congress persuaded rebel candidate Sadiq Pailwan to withdraw, he remained in the fray as the move came after the deadline for withdrawal of nominations.
