Flying kiss amount to sexual harassment, rules Chandigarh court

In a significant ruling on women’s safety and dignity, a Chandigarh court has held that winking at a woman and giving her a flying kiss constitutes sexual harassment under the law.
The case dates back to 2023, when a 62-year-old man, Ashok Kumar, was accused of making obscene gestures at a woman in a public place by winking and blowing a flying kiss at her, causing her distress and humiliation.
After hearing the case, Judicial Magistrate Sachin Yadav found the accused guilty of inappropriate conduct amounting to sexual harassment.
The court observed that such gestures, though sometimes trivialised, violate a woman’s dignity and sense of personal safety and cannot be treated lightly.
While recording a conviction, the court chose to extend leniency in sentencing. Instead of awarding immediate imprisonment, the judge ordered that Ashok Kumar be released under probation and kept under observation for a period of six months.
The court made it clear that if the accused commits any offence or engages in similar misconduct during this period, he will be sent to prison.
The ruling has drawn attention for clearly recognising non-verbal gestures such as winking and flying kisses as forms of sexual harassment, reinforcing that harassment is not limited to physical contact alone.