‘F**k off’  word is vulgar, offensive American slang, says Delhi court

A Delhi court ruled that the phrase “f**k off” is a “vulgar”, “offensive American slang” that should not be used in Indian society, schools, or universities as a way to urge someone to leave since it has a sexual connotation and may result in legal action for outraging someone’s modesty.

In its verdict, the court upheld the accusations made against a man for allegedly hurting a woman’s modesty by using the phrase and threatening her in 2019.

According to the first information report (FIR), the accused had abused the woman on May 9, 2015, at her house, also calling her a “bazaru aurat”. A magistrate’s court had on August 20 framed charges against the accused under various sections of the Indian Penal Code, including 509 (outraging a woman’s modesty) and 506 (criminal intimidation).

The accused challenged the order, saying “f**k off” is not a sexually coloured remark, adding that he had used the phrase only to ask the woman to leave the premises. He contended that the meaning of the phrase is defined in Cambridge Dictionary (UK) as “…to leave or go away, used specially as a rude way of telling someone to go away…”

The accused’s lawyer had also argued that “f**k off” is a commonly used phrase in society and at colleges and universities.

On October 29, additional sessions judge Sanjay Sharma denied the plea in a six-page judgement. “Moreover, given the facts and circumstances of the incident, it cannot be said that the petitioner was merely intending to ask the complainant to leave or go away. In ordinary sense, the said word is abusive, offensive and humiliating. This Court does not find any merit in the contention of counsel for the petitioner that the dictionary meaning of the word is defined as ‘to leave or go away’. The said word is a ‘sexually coloured remark’.”