Re: g_b remember sections 388 and 389 IPC
Hi Bloot, Vikram Doctor wrote this, not me!! Thank you Best Regards, आधन्यवाद तथा आपको प्रणाम, Aditya Bondyopadhyay आदित्य बन्द्योपाध्याय (Sent from my iPhone/iPad) (मेरे आईफ़ोन/आईपैड से भेजा गया) On 26-Nov-2014, at 10:38 am, Bloot Fontaine blutfonta...@yahoo.co.in [gay_bombay] gay_bombay@yahoogroups.com wrote: Aditya, you are brilliant! On Monday, 24 November 2014 12:12 PM, Vikram D vg...@yahoo.co.uk [gay_bombay] gay_bombay@yahoogroups.com wrote: When the Supreme Court upheld Section 377 one of the immediate reactions was that this was a shocking case of the court empowering blackmailers. Throughout its history S.377 - and similar laws across the world - has been used extremely successfully to extort money from gay men who are too scared of prosecution under the law to fight back. This is exactly what we are now seeing. From across the country cases are coming of queer people being blackmailed or harassed by threat or sometimes the actual use of S.377. Just today I have heard the most startling case where a businessman gave Rs10 lakhs because he got a letter saying that the person sending it had video evidence of him having sex with other men. One reaction that such stories sometimes get is that people who give in to blackmail deserve what they get - that (a) they should not have been stupid enough to get into the situation in the first place and (b) they should not give in, but call the blackmailer's bluff. Blackmail depends on the victim being afraid, and if you are not, it can't work. But saying this doesn't allow for the extreme loneliness that drives people to take risks, and yes, stupid risks too at times. Yes, you should be careful who you pick up and where and what you do, but its always easier to say this in hindsight. And it is also easy to be courageous when its not happening to you. When you are the one who opens an email or letter and finds not just the threat of your privacy being exposed, but the knowledge that someone is malign enough to want to do it, you can feel the bottom falling out of your world. This still does not mean one should give in to blackmail. It may be tempting to just give the money and hope it all goes away, but it never does. Blackmail is an addiction, and quite lucrative too, and blackmailers very often repeatedly keep coming back for more. And even if they don't the victim is always afraid that they, or someone else, will. So if this situation happens to you, or to someone you know, the first thing to tell them is to find a way not to be afraid. If they have family from who they fear exposure, they should ask themselves one hard fact - in the long run will the family mind more that one of them is gay or that he is giving away Rs10 lakhs, and probably even more over time. Whatever people might feel about homosexuality, they usually don't want to lose a lot of money! The second thing to tell yourself, or them, is that S.377 is not easy to prosecute. This is why the police actually does not use it very much, but prefers to use the threat of it, or more easily implementable and vague laws like 'obscene conduct' in public or drinking without a permit (which is what most people who are arrested at parties are usually prosecuted under, which is why responsible party goers get permits, and party organisers arrange for them). Proving S.377 without a doubt really requires a medical examination and this is not going to be easy to organise. Video evidence might count too - though of course there are all the arguments about video being tampered with which politicians routinely trot out! But this is one good argument not to record yourself having sex, however much this turns you on! At least one S.377 case which has been going on for a while involves recording that a husband made with his male lover which his wife got her hands on. And finally, we actually have protection from the same source that threatens us - the Indian Penal Code. Buried away in IPC are two sections, S.388 and S.389 which state that attempt to blackmail using sections of IPC as a threat, is as much of a crime as going against those sections of IPC! This perhaps recalls some residual wisdom among people, like Lord Macauley who drew up IPC, that the law can be misused and it is best to provide remedy against it. This is what Sections 388 and 389 do, and they specifically mention S.377. S.388 says that whoever extorts money by putting someone in fear of being accused of a grave crime is liable to be punished severely, and S.389 says that whoever even threatens someone with a view to extortion, will be punished severely, and both of them end by saying and, if the offence be punishable under section 377 of this Code, may be punished with 1[imprisonment for life]. It is really quite remarkable and worth reading: Section 388 in The Indian Penal Code Section 389 in The
Re: g_b remember sections 388 and 389 IPC
Aditya, you are brilliant! On Monday, 24 November 2014 12:12 PM, Vikram D vg...@yahoo.co.uk [gay_bombay] gay_bombay@yahoogroups.com wrote: When the Supreme Court upheld Section 377 one of the immediate reactions was that this was a shocking case of the court empowering blackmailers. Throughout its history S.377 - and similar laws across the world - has been used extremely successfully to extort money from gay men who are too scared of prosecution under the law to fight back. This is exactly what we are now seeing. From across the country cases are coming of queer people being blackmailed or harassed by threat or sometimes the actual use of S.377. Just today I have heard the most startling case where a businessman gave Rs10 lakhs because he got a letter saying that the person sending it had video evidence of him having sex with other men. One reaction that such stories sometimes get is that people who give in to blackmail deserve what they get - that (a) they should not have been stupid enough to get into the situation in the first place and (b) they should not give in, but call the blackmailer's bluff. Blackmail depends on the victim being afraid, and if you are not, it can't work. But saying this doesn't allow for the extreme loneliness that drives people to take risks, and yes, stupid risks too at times. Yes, you should be careful who you pick up and where and what you do, but its always easier to say this in hindsight. And it is also easy to be courageous when its not happening to you. When you are the one who opens an email or letter and finds not just the threat of your privacy being exposed, but the knowledge that someone is malign enough to want to do it, you can feel the bottom falling out of your world. This still does not mean one should give in to blackmail. It may be tempting to just give the money and hope it all goes away, but it never does. Blackmail is an addiction, and quite lucrative too, and blackmailers very often repeatedly keep coming back for more. And even if they don't the victim is always afraid that they, or someone else, will. So if this situation happens to you, or to someone you know, the first thing to tell them is to find a way not to be afraid. If they have family from who they fear exposure, they should ask themselves one hard fact - in the long run will the family mind more that one of them is gay or that he is giving away Rs10 lakhs, and probably even more over time. Whatever people might feel about homosexuality, they usually don't want to lose a lot of money! The second thing to tell yourself, or them, is that S.377 is not easy to prosecute. This is why the police actually does not use it very much, but prefers to use the threat of it, or more easily implementable and vague laws like 'obscene conduct' in public or drinking without a permit (which is what most people who are arrested at parties are usually prosecuted under, which is why responsible party goers get permits, and party organisers arrange for them). Proving S.377 without a doubt really requires a medical examination and this is not going to be easy to organise. Video evidence might count too - though of course there are all the arguments about video being tampered with which politicians routinely trot out! But this is one good argument not to record yourself having sex, however much this turns you on! At least one S.377 case which has been going on for a while involves recording that a husband made with his male lover which his wife got her hands on. And finally, we actually have protection from the same source that threatens us - the Indian Penal Code. Buried away in IPC are two sections, S.388 and S.389 which state that attempt to blackmail using sections of IPC as a threat, is as much of a crime as going against those sections of IPC! This perhaps recalls some residual wisdom among people, like Lord Macauley who drew up IPC, that the law can be misused and it is best to provide remedy against it. This is what Sections 388 and 389 do, and they specifically mention S.377. S.388 says that whoever extorts money by putting someone in fear of being accused of a grave crime is liable to be punished severely, and S.389 says that whoever even threatens someone with a view to extortion, will be punished severely, and both of them end by saying and, if the offence be punishable under section 377 of this Code, may be punished with 1[imprisonment for life]. It is really quite remarkable and worth reading:Section 388 in The Indian Penal CodeSection 389 in The Indian Penal Code Somehow in drafting IPC, the framers did acknowledge that S.377 in particular was liable to be abused, and hence they tried to provide some protection. Of course, the best solution is not to prosecute people for consensual same sex relations, but at least this attempt at balance does exist. The problem is that these are obscure sections of IPC and few
