Moral police

Moral police is an umbrella category of vigilante groups which act to enforce a code of morality in India. Some of India's laws, and some actions of police forces in India are also considered to be instances of moral policing. The target of moral policing is any activity that vigilante groups, the government or police deem to be "immoral" and/or "against Indian culture". Similar groups exist in countries such as Iran as well.

Overview

India has several vigilante groups that claim to protect the Indian culture. They resist and oppose cultural concepts that they deem to have been imported from the Western culture. They have been known to attack bars and pubs. Some of these groups have attacked or have forced art exhibitions to shut down, where they claim obscene paintings were being displayed. Right-wing groups have canvassed door-to-door and put up posters against western-style clothing. Some have also condemned beauty parlours. Some members of the media have also colluded with such groups.[failed verification] Some politicians have supported such viewpoints and occasionally such activities.

Laws

In India, the Sections 292 to 294 of the Indian Penal Code are used to deal with obscenity. Most of these laws date back to 1860. The Section 292 of the Indian Penal Code deals with sales and distribution of obscene books and other material. It criminalises materials like books and paintings if it is deemed to be "lascivious or appeals to the prurient interest". The Section 292 was amended in 1969 to exclude material that are for public good (like condom ads), scientific material, art and religious figures. Police also use Section 292 of the IPC to file cases against film posters and advertisement hoardings that are deemed to be "obscene".

The Section 293 deals with the sale of obscene material to people under 20. The Section 294 of the Indian Penal Code deals with "obscene acts and songs" and it states that:

Whoever, to the annoyance of others

(a) Does any obscene act in any public place, or
(b) Sings, recites or utters any obscene song, 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.

There is no proper definition of an obscene act and it is open to interpretation. It is frequently used by the police to justify acts of moral policing.

Immoral Traffic (Prevention) Act, 1956 (also known as Prevention of Immoral Traffic Act or PITA) was originally passed to prevent human trafficking. It allows police to raid hotels if they suspect a sex racket is being run there. Police have used this law to raid hotels and arrest consenting couples.

India's obscenity laws have also been frequently compared to the Hicklin test. Despite demands to criminalize moral policing, advisories issued against it in various courts including the Supreme Court, and policies against it followed by certain departments, there are no laws, due to which such incidents continue to happen.

Notable incidents

By vigilante groups, various organizations and mobs

Moral policing by vigilante groups, various organizations and mobs in India is a common occurrence. Motives for such incidents are protection of religious or cultural identity and imposition of personal views and moral codes on everyone involving, for example, religious views, objection to inter-faith or inter-caste relationships, cohabitation or live-in relationships, views on women, views on gambling and alcoholism, and public display of affection between consenting adults. Often these views and sentiments are heavily politicized and is sometimes also reflected in laws and also gains support from officials ranging from police officers to judges. Religious heads and organizations sometimes issue statements ordering compliance with moral code in reference to their religion, excommunication or even support for violence against offenders. Individuals and organizations sometimes pursue legal actions against offending people and organize protests with many instances turning to violence.

Valentine's Day

Valentine's Day is often notably opposed through violent means by Hindutva militant groups like Shiv Sena, Sri Ram Sena, and Sangh Parivar organizations such as Vishwa Hindu Parishad, Bajrang Dal, Akhil Bharatiya Vidyarthi Parishad, Hindu Munnani, also political organizations like Hindu Makkal Katchi and organizations with political affiliation such as Shiv Sena affiliated Bharatiya Kamgar or CPI-M affiliated Students' Federation of India. Couples are often beaten up for holding hands or kissing in public. Vigilante groups have been known to attack gift and greeting card shops prior on the occasion. Events organized in recognition of Valentine's Day are often vandalized by mobs organized through such groups. Couples are secretly videographed to be shared online or threatened with as intimidation or pursuing police complaint under the country's public display of affection law. Conservative Islamic organizations such as Students Islamic Organisation of India, Dukhtaran-e-Millat, Raza Academy and Girls Islamic Organisation are known for staging protests and calling for boycott of the date. Leaders of such organizations hold the position that it an attack of the west on Indian culture and that it is attracting youth for commercial gain. Occasionally, the police also try to restrict these groups although such groups remain to be active.

By police

Police authorities often take actions permitted through vague and unclear laws to file complaints against individuals or even organizations for various 'immoral' activities. For example, kissing, hugging or even holding hands in public have been subject to complaint as public display of affection is a punishable offense with maximum 3 months imprisonment and/or fine under section 292 and section 294 of Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita which does not define but rather leaves to the discretion of the courts to decide what constitutes as an offending action. Politicians cite Information Technology (IT) Act to call for monitoring and blocking of social media for 'vulgar' content under cyber wing of police departments due to the power it grants as well as its unclear definitions, having the potential to emerge as new methods for censorship. Despite the repeal of section 66A of the Act in 2015 by the Supreme Court, most police departments continued to use it. Following increasing incidents of moral policing involving police officers, the Supreme Court of India issued an advisory against indulging in any kind of moral policing by police officers in December 2022. Eloping couples sometimes have missing persons complaint filed by their parents in some cases leading to harassment by the police, which has resulted in guidelines issued by court to police departments in an attempt to curb this. Prevention of Immoral Traffic Act, or laws against indecent behavior in public, are sometimes cited for raiding hotels providing private space for consenting couples, as per department policy which varies across police departments.

Anti-Romeo squads

During 2017 election cycle in Uttar Pradesh, the BJP promised to form 'anti-Romeo squads' with plain clothes officers stationed near universities to check crime against women in its manifesto. Within days of assuming the role of the Chief Minister of Uttar Pradesh in 2017, Yogi Adityanath, enforced 'anti-Romeo squad' in the police department for safety of women and young girls from sexual harassment, indecent behavior and eve-teasing. Its officers were tasked with patrolling universities, cinema halls, parks and other public places in plain clothes. The initiative does not clearly define the term 'Romeo' in its manifesto, leading to broad interpretation by police officers and harassment of couples in consensual relationships, as well as extortion. Reports emerged of overreach involving on-spot enforcement of punishments for boys consisting of sit-ups, murga punishment and also tonsure before changing its policy, due to which it attracted criticism by various media including international media, for overreach of authority. Lucknow high court squashed a PIL alleging that officers were not following guidelines and Allahabad High court denied overreach of authority and called the move as constitutional, terming it as preventive policing. From March 2017 to February 2025, the anti-romeo squad has checked over 40 million persons and registered 24 thousand cases against 30 thousand individuals, while it registered 6 cases a day at a period. Gujarat has also experimented with 'anti-Romeo' squads, with undercover police officers attending festivities to catch eve-teasers, 'Romeos' and also 'Juliets' however, its effectiveness has been debated.

In March 2025, shortly following the election of BJP led government in Delhi, it announced the formation of 'Shishtachar' which is said to function similarly to anti-Romeo squads in Uttar Pradesh, within the Delhi police. However, the department operates on strict instructions against imposing morals and ethics on the public and to only focus on women's safety, and is subject to regular reviews to prevent misuse. The initiative has also been received positively.

By the Governing bodies and Judiciary systems

Restrictions on night life and alcohol

Throughout India, restrictions have been place by some state governments on timings and license requirement for pubs, bars and other establishments that sell liquor. State specific laws govern legal drinking age in India.[citation needed] Various states also impose bans on dance bars such as Maharashtra and Karnataka.[needs update]

Opposition to sex education in schools

The Adolescence Education Programme (AEP) was a sex education program designed by the Ministry of Human Resource Development (India) and National AIDS Control Organisation (NACO) to implement the policies of the National AIDS Control Programme II (NACP II). However, it faced opposition in various states, including Gujarat, Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra, Karnataka, and Rajasthan.[needs update]

Cases against personalities

Various cases of obscenity have been filed against notable film directors, actors, actresses, models and personalities for their work, as well as against works of art, books and media.

  • Shilpa Shetty and Richard Gere kissing incident: In 2007, when Richard Gere kissed Shilpa Shetty on her cheeks on a live broadcast as part of an AIDS awareness campaign, a complaint was registered against both the actors resulting in a local court issuing an arrest warrant for Richard Gere which was cleared in 2008 by the Supreme Court of India terming the ruling as 'cheap publicity' while the case involving the actress for 'failure to deny his advances' was dismissed in 2022, 15 years after the incident, with the court describing the actress as a "victim of unwanted advances". Since the concerning sections of law leaves to the discretion of the courts in deciding what constitutes as indecent, despite assertions that kissing in public is not obscene in many such landmark cases by the Supreme Court of India, it continues to be in use to rule against such cases.
  • On 10 February 2025, podcaster Ranveer Allahbadia, known as BeerBiceps, appearing as a guest judge in India's Got Latent asked the following question to a contestant: "Would you rather watch your parents have sex every day for the rest of your life or join in once to make it stop forever?". Due to its vulgar nature, various personalities involved in the episode faced public criticism as well as having FIR filed against for "promoting obscenity" and using offensive language. The controversy as well as the politicized nature of the incident lead to cancellation of the show, arrest two personalities involved in the show who have been granted bail and protection from arrest, death threats including a bounty by a far-right Hindutva group, rape and acid attack threats on a female cast member, as well as Supreme Court recommendation for Union to draft regulations for online content. The incident has sparked criticism of hypocrisy of the judiciary and police about not taking any legal action against political figures who have made derogatory comments about women and hate-speech in the past as well as concerns of the BJP government spreading moral panic and using the controversy to tighten internet censorship in India.

A list of notable film directors, actors, actresses and models who have been subject to obscenity cases for their work includes Milind Soman, Madhu Sapre, Pooja Bhatt, Madhuri Dixit, Mamta Kulkarni, Karisma Kapoor, Tabassum Hashmi, Raveena Tandon, Juhi Chawla, Mamta Kulkarni, Reema Sen, Aishwarya Rai, Hrithik Roshan, Akshay Kumar, Twinkle Khanna, Vidya Balan, Karan Johar, Arjun Kapoor, Ranveer Singh and Deepika Padukone.

Censorship

In India, there are various restrictions on content, with an official view towards "maintaining communal and religious harmony" which sometimes leans towards moral policing. The Central Board of Film Certification (CBFC) or the Censor Board, is tasked with regulating the public exhibition of films under the provisions of the "Cinematograph Act, 1952", which has been accused of moral policing by filmmakers on multiple occasions and has been criticized for erring caution to protests by moral police, although the former chief of the Censor Board, Sharmila Tagore, has defended the body against such claims. Filmmakers have reported a more positive experience with the board's Film Certification Appellate Tribunal (FCAT) where filmmakers can appeal decisions of the censor board in front of a judiciary panel. The FCAT which had been historically more progressive than CBFC and responsible to overtuning CBFC decisions on many occasions, was abolished in 2021 under the Tribunal Reforms Ordinance, 2021.

  • Bandit Queen (1994), was initially subjected to over 100 cuts involving adult language, rape scenes and frontal nudity by the CBFC but was overturned upon appealing to the FCAT, which upheld that the rape scenes was intended to create revulsion and claimed that "to delete or even to reduce these climactic visuals would be a sacrilege (as it would) negate the very impact of the film" and allowed depiction of nudity as it considered as not obscene. The FCAT ruling was challenged in the Supreme court which upheld FCAT decision and emphasized importance of watching movies in its context, cautioned against applying blanket standards regarding nudity and allowing film-making liberty.
  • In December 2000, after Priyanka Chopra was crowned Miss World, beauty contests were banned in her home state of Uttar Pradesh under the orders of then Chief Minister Rajnath Singh as he claimed that beauty contests were against traditional culture and were vulgar.
  • In 2007, the TV channel AXN was banned for two months for broadcasting a show called 'World's Sexiest Commercials' after 11 pm. Similarly, Fashion TV and Comedy Central was taken off air, for violating the Cable Television Networks Rules, 1994 and Cable Television Networks Regulation Act, 1995 by showing obscene and vulgar visuals which were unsuitable for the public and children.
  • Lipstick Under My Burkha (2017), an award-winning black comedy film by Alankrita Shrivastava, was initially denied certification, with the CBFC claiming that "The story is lady oriented, their fantasy above life. There are contagious [sic] sexual scenes, abusive words, audio pornography and a bit sensitive touch about one particular section of society". The filmmakers appealed to the board's Film Certification Appellate Tribunal (FCAT), which authorised its release with some cuts (primarily to sex scenes). Although Shrivastava said she would have preferred no cuts, he expressed that the film's narrative and essence were left intact, and commended the FCAT's handling of the issue.

Other

Protests against moral policing

In 2009, following the 2009 Mangalore pub attack, an organisation called "Consortium of Pubgoing, Loose forward Women" started a movement called the "Pink chaddi campaign". The movement requested people to mail pink underwear to Pramod Muthalik the leader of Sri Ram Sena which was behind the attacks. About 34,000 people participated.

In the state of Kerala, a public hugging and kissing campaign by name 'Kiss of Love' was launched in protest against moral policing on 2 November 2014. Similar events were later organized in Delhi, Kolkata, and various other cities.

See also

References

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