The court said that the this word is usually used to insult a woman.
Highlights
- Man was imposed a fine of Re 1 for calling a woman 'chhammak challo'
- The complaint was filed in 2009 which was refused by the police
- Eight years later, a magistrate upheld her case
Calling a woman '
chhammak challo' is illegal, says a court in Maharashtra. A Thane court noted that its use amounts to "insulting a woman's modesty". A magistrate last week sentenced a Thane resident to simple imprisonment "till the court rises" for using the expression for a woman and imposed a fine of Re 1 on him.
According to the woman's complaint, on January 9, 2009, while returning from a morning walk with her husband, she stumbled on a garbage bin which the accused had kept on the staircase. The accused got furious and shouted at the couple, and, among other things, called the woman "
chhammak chhallo".
The Hindi expression can be roughly described as "a hot sexy girl who is on the flashy side", according to
Samosapedia, a language and culture website. In 2011, it was made popular by a song from a Hindi superhero film
Ra.One that saw Shah Rukh Khan and Kareena Kapoor Khan in the lead.
As the woman found the comment offensive, she went to the police, but the cops refused to register a complaint. So she approached the court. Eight years later, magistrate RT Ingale upheld her case, saying that the accused had indeed committed an offence and charged him under section 509 of IPC (word, gesture or act intended to insult the modesty of a woman).
"It is a Hindi word. There is no word for it in English. The said word is to be understood in the Indian society by its use. Generally, this word is used to insult a woman. It is not a word for appreciating... it causes irritation and anger to any woman," the magistrate said in his order.
(With inputs from PTI)