00:00Kissing in public. Can it land you in jail? Can I hug my husband or partner in public?
00:10Well, legally speaking, there is absolutely nothing wrong with kissing in public or doing PDA.
00:15But it can still land you in legal trouble if people consider it annoying or obscene.
00:20This is because obscene acts in public are a crime.
00:22According to section 294 of the Indian Penal Code, if anybody acts obscenely in a public place
00:28or sings an obscene song, recites an obscene poem or written word,
00:32they could be fined or sent to jail for a term extending up to three months.
00:36Or both jail and fine. The National Crime Records Bureau, which maintains the data on crime,
00:41doesn't exactly say how many people were booked for kissing in public. But over 21,000 people
00:46were booked for indulging in obscene acts and songs in a public place in 2021.
00:51The section has also been used to file cases against celebrities in different years.
00:56Ranveer Singh was booked for his nude photoshoot for a magazine.
00:59Milan Soman was charged for running naked on a beach on his birthday.
01:04And Akshay Kumar was arrested for one hour after his wife, Twinkle Khanna,
01:08unbuttoned his jeans during a fashion show.
01:10So while you can be booked for obscenity under section 294,
01:14what is and what's not obscene has not been clearly defined, even the Supreme Court has said.
