The usage of Hindi word, “chhammakchhallo” in real life can land you in legal trouble. A Thane court has held that the use of the word is an “insult to a woman’s modesty”.
Last week, a magistrate sentenced a city resident to a simple imprisonment “till the court rises” for the offence and imposed a fine of Rs 1 on him. One of accused’s neighbours had dragged him to the court.
According to the woman’s complaint, on 9, January 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 yelled at the couple, and, among other things, called the woman “chhammakchhallo”. Finding it very offensive, the woman approached police, but the police refused to register a complaint. So she moved the court.
After eight years, Judicial Magistrate, RT Ingale, upheld her case, saying that the accused had indeed committed an offence 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.
Incidentally, this word has been used in a song in Shah Rukh Khan-starrer “Ra.One”.
