Supreme Court quashed obscenity proceedings over nude sports photograph published in a Kolkata newspaper
A private complainant initiated proceedings after an Indian sports magazine and a Kolkata newspaper published a nude photograph of an international tennis player and his fiancée. An Alipore magistrate found a prima facie case under Section 292 IPC and subsequently ordered the accused to face trial under that provision or, alternatively, Section 4 of the Indecent Representation of Women (Prohibition) Act, 1986. The Supreme Court set aside the criminal proceedings after finding that the photograph and article were not obscene when viewed in context under the contemporary community-standards test.
This page records what the cited court records say happened. Findings belong to the court or authority that made them; this register adds none of its own. Names of private individuals are withheld unless a naming gate clears them.
How we verify →Criminal proceedings were finally set aside by the Supreme Court.
What happened
The Supreme Court recorded that Sports World reproduced the article and photograph as its cover story on 05.05.1993 and that Anandabazar Patrika, a newspaper widely circulated in Kolkata, published them on 06.05.1993.
The Court recorded the magistrate's finding that 'a prima facie case is made out against the accused persons under Section 292 IPC.'
The Court applied the contemporary community-standards test and found that the photograph and article, viewed in the context of their anti-racism message, were not objectionable under Section 292 IPC or Section 4 of the Indecent Representation of Women (Prohibition) Act, 1986.
The Court concluded: 'We are, therefore, inclined to allow this appeal and set aside the criminal proceedings initiated against the Appellants.'
What the record says
“We are, therefore, inclined to allow this appeal and set aside the criminal proceedings initiated against the Appellants.”
Supreme Court Criminal Appeal No. 902 of 2004, judgment dated 3 February 2014, paragraph 32 — read the full text
No complaining victim
Publishing a consensual adult sports photograph harmed no one; there was no complaining victim, no minor and no coercion, only the state punishing alleged obscenity.
What we could not confirm
No qualifying 2024-2026 West Bengal obscenity, begging, suicide or consensual-conduct prosecution with an official record was found; this landmark acquittal is older (2014) but is the most recent qualifying case located. Exact publication/incident date not extracted from the excerpt.