Raise Voices, Not Eyebrows: It’s an Offence to Urinate in Public & This Is How You Can Stop It

It is generally observed that we criticise most of the things that happen around us, we feel disturbed about such things but fail to raise our voices against it. Spitting in public, throwing garbage, urinating in public are some of those instances. In recent news, an auto driver was brutally murdered by 2 individuals when he requested them not to urinate in public, when in fact he had offered to pay the charges for a public urinal for them.

It’s a general notion that Kissing in Public is Illegal but Pissing in Public is justified, apparently people often fail to understand that the idea of doing something & stopping others from doing it are interdependent.

A couple in Mumbai were thrashed by the police when they were found inculging in “obscene acts” in public, but eventually the police fails to realise that their duty does not restrict them to only such “obscene cases”, but also requires them to raise a voice for the simple overt acts, public urination being one of those.

          Picture Source: TOI Patna

We have a Police Act of 1861 which enlists the offenses that can be committed on roads etc. The clause is Section 34 which enumerates that

“Any person who, on any road or in any open place or street or thoroughfare within the limits of any town to which this section shall be specially extended by the State Government, commits any of the following offences, to the obstructions inconvenience, annoyance, risk, danger or damage of the residents or passengers shall, on conviction before a Magistrate, be liable to fine not exceeding fifty rupees, or to imprisonment with or without hard labor not exceeding eight days;”

And not only the Police Act, we also have a provision under The Indian Penal Code in which Section 290 enumerates the Punishment for public nuisance,

“Whoever commits a public nuisance in any case not otherwise punishable by this Code, shall be punished with fine which may extend to two hundred rupees.”

        Picture Source: India Opines

Talking about the history, around 2 years back there was a drive undertaken by the Agra Railway Police to punish the miscreants of this offense: they jailed for 24 Hours and a fine of around Rs. 500 was levied on them. This act by the police was remarkable, but it was all in vain when the fear of getting arrested ended.

Since last year, Rajasthan has been imposing fines for littering and improper garbage disposal — Rs 200 for urinating at a public place, Rs 5,000 for improperly disposing off cow dung, Rs 2,000 per day for restaurants disposing waste in the open and Rs 2,000 for littering. The ministry wants the Rajasthan model replicated nationwide. Then why don’t we want an ideal model for ourselves as well?

Picture Source: Epoch Times

The issue can not be solved by merely blaming everything on the police and moving on. There is also a need to raise our voices against it, only then can a slow but sure change be brought about. It is true that Nature’s call is not something to be avoided but women have been brought up, trained to use a urinal only when one is available. It is time that men start adding their bit and contribute to PM Modi’s Clean India Campaign. The government has established Public urinals in convenient places and continues to do so. It is every citizen’s civic duty to make use of these are keep our country clean.

Visit Legistify or write at @Legistify.com or call 011-331-38-123 for legal assistance.

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