- (1.) Leave granted.
(2.) Eve-Teasing is a euphemism, a conduct which attracts penal action but it is seen, only in one State, a Statute has been enacted, that is State of Tamil Nadu to contain the same, the consequence of which may at times drastic. Eve-teasing led to the death of a woman in the year 1998 in the State of Tamil Nadu which led the Government bringing an ordinance, namely, the Tami Nadu Prohibition of Eve-Teasing Ordinance, 1998, which later became an Act, namely, the Tamil Nadu Prohibition of Eve-Teasing Act, 1998 [for short 'the Eve-Teasing Act']. The Statement of Objects and Reasons of the Eve-Teasing Act reads as follows: "Eve-teasing in public places has been a perennial problem. Recently, incidents of eve-teasing leading to serious injuries to, and even death of a woman have come to the notice of the Government. The Government are of the view that eve-teasing is a menace to society as a whole and has to be eradicated. With this in view, the Government decided to prohibit eve-teasing in the State of Tamil Nadu. 2. Accordingly, the Tamil Nadu Prohibition of Eve-teasing Ordinance, 1998 (Tamil Nadu Ordinance No. 4 of 1998) was promulgated by the Governor and the same was published in the Tamil Nadu Government Gazette Extraordinary, dated the 30th July, 1998. 3. The Bill seeks to replace the said Ordinance."
(3.) We are in this case concerned with a situation where a member of the law enforcement agency, a police personnel, himself was caught in the act of eve-teasing of a married woman leading to criminal and disciplinary proceeding, ending in his dismissal from service, the legality of which is the subject matter of this appeal.;