Punjab police book Honey Singh for obscenity

18 May 2013

Controversial singer Honey Singh was booked on Thursday by the Punjab police under Section 294 (obscene acts and songs to the annoyance of others in public place) of the Indian Penal Code (IPC). This comes post the Punjab government drew flack from the Haryana and Punjab High Courts for inaction against the rapper after a PIL was filed by Parvinder Singh Kittna, general secretary of an NGO Human Empowerment League of Punjab.

While the PIL had sought directions to set up an effective mechanism to curb the menace of lewd songs, it claimed that all levels of decency were being violated by certain singers. The petitioner had particularly mentioned Honey's song ' Main Hoon Balatkari' (I am a rapist), stating that it had hurt the sentiments of all civilized citizens of the country.

On the other hand, the charges under Section 294 of the IPC that have been leveled against the rapper can incur imprisonment for a term which may extend to three months, or with a fine, or with both.