Recently, the Bombay High Court has said that staring at a woman colleague’s body is unethical and inappropriate, but it does not amount to the criminal offence of Voyeurism.

The bench of Justice Amit Borkar explained that while such behaviour is morally wrong, it does not fall under Section 354C of the IPC, which deals with voyeurism.

The law on voyeurism applies to situations where a woman is being watched, recorded, or photographed during a private act—such as when she is in a bathroom, involved in an intimate act, or in a situation where she expects privacy. The Court said that simply staring in an office setting does not meet this legal definition.

The case involved an FIR against an insurance company executive. A woman colleague had accused him of staring at her body during meetings instead of maintaining eye contact, and also making inappropriate comments.

However, the Court said the law cannot be stretched beyond what is clearly written. It added that continuing the criminal case in such circumstances would be a misuse of the legal process.

The Court also noted that the company’s Internal Complaints Committee (ICC) had already cleared the accused earlier.

Based on all this, the High Court decided to quash the FIR against the executive.