The Nagpur Bench of the Bombay High Court has ruled that a bank manager’s inappropriate comment to a female subordinate—advising her to “convince the customer as she convinces her husband”—though objectionable, does not amount to the offense of outraging a woman's modesty under Section 509 of the Indian Penal Code (IPC).

A Division Bench of Justices Anil Kilor and Pravin Patil quashed the charge sheet against Satyaswarup Haridas Meshram, then Assistant General Manager at State Bank of India (SBI), Bhandara, observing that the statement, made during a staff performance meeting on August 11, 2021, lacked the requisite criminal intent.

"Considering the purpose of the meeting and the context in which the words were spoken, it does not appear that the applicant intended to insult the modesty of the complainant,” the Court held in its April 23 order. The Court acknowledged that while the remark was disgraceful, it was made in the course of assessing staff performance and not with the intent to demean.

The complainant, a Senior Clerk at the same bank, filed an FIR over a year later, on November 14, 2022. She also alleged additional inappropriate conduct on August 28 and September 16, 2022.

Meshram’s counsel argued that the ingredients of Section 509 IPC—specifically the intention to insult a woman's modesty—were not satisfied. In contrast, the complainant’s counsel and the Additional Public Prosecutor contended that the comment was made with deliberate intent and warranted criminal prosecution.

The Court found no sufficient material to support the claim that Meshram acted with the requisite intent or knowledge necessary under Section 509. It concluded that continuing the proceedings would amount to an abuse of the process of law.

Advocate A.P. Modak represented the accused bank official, Additional Public Prosecutor Mayuri Deshmukh appeared for the State, and Advocate Ayushi Dangre appeared for the complainant.