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 Hyderabad, Jan. 19: Love may be in the air in the
run-up to Valentine’s Day, but on terra firma, it is taboo, as
26-year-old Anil Kumar Reddy discovered at NTR Park on Sunday evening.
Anil, out on a date with his girlfriend, had to pay a fine of Rs 200
for kissing her in the park — the cops on duty told him it was
“against the rules, and this is Indian culture”.
“I’m surprised at this sort of culture policing. I believe culture is
more of a choice. My generation feels there’s no harm in kissing in
places like parks. That’s probably the reason why kissing scenes are
not censored in movies and serials,” says a disgusted Anil. “It was
just a spontaneous gesture being made out to be an offence, that too
at around 8.45 pm, when the place was quite deserted. I’m sure we were
not offending anyone.”
Anil, however, made sure the cops endorsed the fact that the fine was
“for kissing” on the penalty slip issued to him. “Going by the law,
the police do not have the right to fine anyone for kissing, even if
it amounts to indecent behavior in public. Only a court can levy a
fine,” contends a city lawyer, Satyanarayana, “Police can only
reprimand the couple.”
Funnily enough, there is no clear legal definition as to what amounts
to indecent behavior in public. Kissing is tantamount to indecent
behavior if it takes place on a main thoroughfare, but if lovers lock
lips in an enclosed space like a park, the law doesn’t take cognizance
of the act! Obscenity is defined by the law as “lewd, impure or
indecent behavior calculated to shock the moral regard of citizens”,
but as to the degree of shock an act has to deliver for it to be
indecent, there’s no parameter. A kiss, for example, can be a peck on
the cheek, a smack or a smooch — how does the law decide which is
which?
As for the police, the standpoint is definitely that of moral
guardian. “The majority of people feel kissing in public places is
wrong. Both families and couples visit the city’s parks. So we have to
ensure that no one causes embarrassment to others,” says DCP, Central
Zone B Srinivasulu, putting an official stamp on the censorship. “Of
course, we try not to disturb the privacy of people who might be
friends spending time.
We don’t even bother if a boy and a girl are holding hands.” Marilyn
Monroe once said Hollywood is a place where you get paid a thousand
dollars for a kiss. But in this city of ours, it appears, you have to
pay a big price for a kiss. (Source: Deccan Chronicle)
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