An Indian man detained in Mumbai for lasciviousness after kissing a female friend on the cheek was finally acquitted on Monday.
It took 11 hearings and 14 months before Kuber Sarup, 26, had the chance to clear the “indecent behavior” tag slapped on his name by Mumbai police in February last year, reports The Times of India.
A police officer witnessed the alleged obscenity when Kuber gave a female friend a goodbye hug and a “peck on the cheek” in Bandra, a suburb in West Mumbai.
The officer reportedly gave him a dressing down on Hindu culture and said he would have to pay a fine of 1,200 rupees (22 dollars) for “indecent behaviour in a public place” or face a night in a police cell.
Kuber was hauled to the police station before finally paying the fine. He appeared in court the next day to contest the charge.
The Bandra metropolitan magistrate agreed Monday that there was no evidence of public indecency, which is banned under section 110 of the Bombay Police Act of 1951.
“What is decent and indecent, police need a bit more clarity on that,” said Kuber.
Local media praised Kuber for having “the courage to stand up to the system”.
“For far too long, citizens have accepted the moral standards set by laws enacted decades ago,” said the Times of India. “Societal mores and moral standards cannot be etched in stone; they change”.
