‘Litigants or Lawyers Need Not to Argue Cases with Folded Hands’: Kerala HC

The Kerala High Court has dismissed an FIR against a 51-year-old woman, asserting that no litigant or lawyer needs to approach a court with folded hands, as judges are merely fulfilling their constitutional duties.

A bench of Justice P V Kunhikrishnan emphasized that, although courts are often referred to as “temples of justice,” they do not house deities on the bench.

The observation came in response to Ramla Kabeer, a petitioner who argued her own case and appeared in court with folded hands and tears in her eyes. The court stressed that litigants and lawyers have a constitutional right to present their case without resorting to such gestures.

The case revolved around a petition filed by the woman seeking the quashing of an FIR lodged against her, alleging that she had verbally abused a police officer from Alappuzha district on multiple occasions. The court found this incident to be implausible, considering the general respect that citizens hold for the police.

Consequently, the District Police Chief was directed to conduct an inquiry into the registration of the case against the woman. If any misconduct was found on the part of the de facto complainant (the police officer), appropriate legal measures should be taken. Subsequently, the Kerala High Court nullified the proceedings against her initiated by the local court in Alappuzha.

Justice Kunhikrishnan determined that the alleged offenses under Sections 294 (b) (uttering obscene words) and 506(i) (criminal intimidation) of the Indian Penal Code were not established based on the facts and circumstances of the case. Furthermore, the court suggested that the FIR itself appeared to be a retaliatory response to the complaint submitted by the petitioner in 2019.

The woman had initially approached the district police chief with a complaint about noise pollution generated by a prayer hall of a religious sect in her neighborhood, which was reportedly playing high decibel prayer songs. Subsequently, she claimed that the concerned police officer, who was assigned to investigate the matter, had verbally abused her when she inquired about the progress of her complaint. The FIR against her was registered after she had filed a complaint with the district police chief.