New Delhi: The Supreme Court has said that taking photos or videos of a woman without her consent does not automatically amount to sexual violence. The court made this observation while reviewing a case from West Bengal in which a man was accused of recording a woman and threatening her.

A bench led by Justices N Kotishwar Singh and Manmohan explained that the law on voyeurism under Section 354C of the Indian Penal Code applies only when a woman is engaged in a private act. According to the court, a private act refers to situations where a woman expects privacy, such as changing clothes, using a restroom or being in a space where others are not allowed to watch.

Since the complaint in the case did not mention any such private activity, the court ruled that the offence of voyeurism did

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