In a major relief to the Malayalam publication Grihalakshmi, the Kerala High Court dismissed the petition filed against the magazine and Gilu Joseph on the grounds of obscenity. The publication has released a statement, lauding the HC’s move to reject the plea. The Joint Managing Director MV Shreymas Kumar has expressed his relief and happiness at the verdict, terming the move as a “sagacious judgement.”

Here’s his official statement: “The Mathrubhumi, as a responsible corporate citizen, wedded to the principles of righteousness and justice, welcomes the sagacious judgment pronounced by the Honourable Justices of the Kerala High Court dismissing the charges of violation of sections of the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences Act and Rules, the Juvenile Justice Act and Indecent Representation of Women Act, in the matter of depicting the maternal act of breastfeeding as a cover photograph in an issue of our women’s fortnightly, Grihalakshmi. It is a poetic and strident validation of our bold caption: ‘Don’t stare, we’ve have to breastfeed,” championing the biological right of both the mother and the infant.

We sincerely hope this verdict will lead to a greater embrace of maternal rights and gender justice, by making our society realise that the act of suckling is representative of general mammalian behaviour and doing so in public is as life-nourishing and sacrosanct as when done in private.’”

The March issue of the magazine had featured model Gilu Joseph who posed breastfeeding an infant. Although the photograph mostly received praise, it was panned by the conservative audience who were offended by the “obscenity.” Some even termed it as a cheap publicity stunt.

A person named Felix MA lodged a case against the magazine and the model, saying that they have violated provisions of Protection of Children from Sexual Offences Act and Rules and Section 45 of the Juvenile Justice Act. Mr. Felix had also invoked provisions of Indecent Representation of Women Act of 1986 and Article 39 (e) and (f) of the Indian constitution.

But in a stunning rebuttal to the complainant, Chief Justice Antony Dominic and Justice Dama Seshadri Naidu said that they failed to see anything obscene about the picture despite their best efforts. Comparing the magazine cover to Raja Ravi Varma paintings – one of which also included a breastfeeding mother – the court said that “obscenity lies in the eyes of the beholder.”

(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Jun 22, 2018 06:15 PM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).