Crimes and Mysteries 59
Indian couple avoid jail
sentence for kissing
A married Indian couple have escaped punishment for
kissing in public. Police in Delhi arrested the 28-year-old
man and his 23-year-old wife in September 2008. The
police fined them for bad manners in a public place.
Showing affection in public places is taboo in India.
However, in court, the judge decided the young couple’s
kiss did not break the law and that they had done nothing
wrong. The judge said an expression of love by a young
married couple was not illegal. In addition, he said he
wondered how anyone could find a simple kiss to be
obscene.
It is extremely rare to see couples kissing in public in India.
It is acceptable and common for young couples to hold
hands in public places. Anything more explicit than this
simple act could be punished by up to three months in
prison. Many Indians, especially older, more conservative
ones, think kissing in public is immoral.
Strange crimes
