Moral police is an umbrella category of vigilante groups which act to enforce a code of morality in India. Some of India's laws, and some actions of police forces in India are also considered to be instances of moral policing. The target of moral policing is any activity that vigilante groups, the government or police deem to be "immoral" and/or "against Indian culture". Similar groups exist in countries such as Iran as well.
Overview
India has several vigilante groups that claim to protect the Indian culture. They resist and oppose cultural concepts that they deem to have been imported from the Western culture. They have been known to attack bars and pubs. Some of these groups have attacked or have forced art exhibitions to shut down, where they claim obscene paintings were being displayed. Right-wing groups have canvassed door-to-door and put up posters against western-style clothing. Some have also condemned beauty parlours. Some members of the media have also colluded with such groups. Some politicians have supported such viewpoints and occasionally such activities.
Laws In India, the Sections 292 to 294 of the Indian Penal Code are used to deal with obscenity. Most of these laws date back to 1860. The Section 292 of the Indian Penal Code deals with sales and distribution of obscene books and other material. It criminalises materials like books and paintings if it is deemed to be "lascivious or appeals to the prurient interest". The Section 292 was amended in 1969 to exclude material that are for public good (like condom ads), scientific material, art and religious figures. Police also use Section 292 of the IPC to file cases against film posters and advertisement hoardings that are deemed to be "obscene".
The Section 293 deals with the sale of obscene material to people under 20. The Section 294 of the Indian Penal Code deals with "obscene acts and songs" and it states that:
There is no proper definition of an obscene act and it is open to interpretation. It is frequently used by the police to justify acts of moral policing.
Immoral Traffic (Prevention) Act, 1956 (also known as Prevention of Immoral Traffic Act or PITA) was originally passed to prevent human trafficking. It allows police to raid hotels if they suspect a sex racket is being run there. Police have used this law to raid hotels and arrest consenting couples.
India's obscenity laws have also been frequently compared to the Hicklin test. Despite demands to criminalize moral policing, advisories issued against it in various courts including the Supreme Court, and policies against it followed by certain departments, there are no laws, due to which such incidents continue to happen.
Notable incidents
By vigilante groups, various organizations and mobs Moral policing by vigilante groups, various organizations and mobs in India is a common occurrence. Motives for such incidents are protection of religious or cultural identity and imposition of personal views and moral codes on everyone involving, for example, religious views, objection to inter-faith or inter-caste relationships, cohabitation or live-in relationships, views on women, views on gambling and alcoholism, and public display of affection between consenting adults. Often these views and sentiments are heavily politicized and is sometimes also reflected in laws and also gains support from officials ranging from police officers to judges. Religious heads and organizations sometimes issue statements ordering compliance with moral code in reference to their religion, excommunication or even support for violence against offenders. Individuals and organizations sometimes pursue legal actions against offending people and organize protests with many instances turning to violence. The 1996 Miss World pageant was held in Bangalore. It faced criticism from protestors who claimed that event was demeaning women and India's culture. Several self-immolation threats were made. The police arrest 1,500 protestors, including several from the BJP, Karnataka Rajya Raitha Sangha and Communist Party of India. One man died in a self-immolation attempt. 2008 Imphal bombing: In October 2008, an explosion occurred at Ragailong, a tribal village near Imphal where people had gathered to play a traditional gambling game. Seventeen people were killed, and many more injured, in the blast. The Kangleipak Communist Party (Military Council) claimed responsibility for the blast, stating they wanted to stop the game because it "affects Manipuri culture adversely". 2009 Mangalore pub attack: On 24 January 2009, members of the Sri Ram Sena barged into the pub "Amnesia – The Lounge" in Mangalore, Karnataka, and beat up a group of young women and men, claiming the women should not be drinking in a public place. 2012 Mangalore homestay attack: On 28 July 2012, activists belonging to the Hindu Jagarana Vedike attacked a birthday party at an unlicensed homestay in Mangalore, Karnataka. The 12 people at the party, including 5 girls, were allegedly beaten, stripped and molested. The faces of some girls were blackened. The activists claimed the youngsters were consuming alcohol and were involved in "some indecent activities". In February 2013, three girls who were members of a rock band in Jammu and Kashmir began receiving threats and hate messages on the internet. The Grand Mufti of Kashmir, Bashir-ud-din Farooqi, issued a fatwa against them, asking them to stop such immoral activities with support from All Parties Hurriyat Conference and Dukhtaran-e-Millat, and the girls eventually shut down the band. In a similar incident, local authorities in the Malda district of West Bengal cancelled a women's football match, featuring national team players in March 2015, after Muslim residents and local maulvis issued a fatwa against it, objecting to women playing sports. Kiss of Love protests: On 23 October 2014, a restaurant in Kozhikode was attacked and vandalised by members identified as part of Bharatiya Janata Yuva Morcha, a youth wing of Bharatiya Janata Party. The attackers claimed that eatery was facilitating immoral activities. The attack came after JaiHind TV, a local Malayalam-language TV channel owned by Indian National Congress, broadcast a report claiming that some coffee shops and restaurants in Kozhikode had become centres of "immoral activities" in a series of events leading to Kiss of Love protest. On March 8, 2017 Moral policing happened in marine drive Kochi against the kiss of love activists. As the ‘moral police’ unleashed attack on a few couples who were reluctant to disperse, about 20 other couples present at the spot fled in fear. ‘‘Some of the couples were seen pleading to let them go. But the group abused some of the females and caned them,’’ said an eyewitness. In 2017, international organization Human Rights Watch reported that Indian authorities should promptly investigate and take action against the self-appointed "cow protectors" involved in a phenomenon known as cow vigilantism, many linked to extremist Hindu groups, who have carried out attacks against Muslims and Dalits over rumors of selling, buying or killing of cows for beef. Members of the BJP have denied supporting cow slaughter vigilantism although it has been criticized for stoking inflammatory rhetoric over cow slaughter. On June 10, 2025, a social media influencer Kanchan Tiwari, also known as ‘Kamal Kaur Bhabi', was murdered by three assailants for finding her content to be obscene. The incident drew divided opinion by the Sikh community with Giani Malkit Singh, the head Granthi of Akal Takht, which is the highest temporal seat of Sikhism, claiming "If someone from another religion changes their name and indulges in such acts to defame the Sikh community, the person should meet the same fate (as Kamal Tiwari). Nothing wrong has happened". Police officials requested people to approach them with evidence of any wrongdoing and that its social media analysis centre (SMAC) and a round-the-clock cyber-patrolling unit (CPU) will remove posts with potential to disturb communal harmony following a three-tier filtering process.
Valentine's Day
Valentine's Day is often notably opposed through violent means by Hindutva militant groups like Shiv Sena, Sri Ram Sena, and Sangh Parivar organizations such as Vishwa Hindu Parishad, Bajrang Dal, Akhil Bharatiya Vidyarthi Parishad, Hindu Munnani, also political organizations like Hindu Makkal Katchi and organizations with political affiliation such as Shiv Sena affiliated Bharatiya Kamgar or CPI-M affiliated Students' Federation of India. Couples are often beaten up for holding hands or kissing in public. Vigilante groups have been known to attack gift and greeting card shops prior on the occasion. Events organized in recognition of Valentine's Day are often vandalized by mobs organized through such groups. Couples are secretly videographed to be shared online or threatened with as intimidation or pursuing police complaint under the country's public display of affection law. Conservative Islamic organizations such as Students Islamic Organisation of India, Dukhtaran-e-Millat, Raza Academy and Girls Islamic Organisation are known for staging protests and calling for boycott of the date. Leaders of such organizations hold the position that it an attack of the west on Indian culture and that it is attracting youth for commercial gain. Occasionally, the police also try to restrict these groups although such groups remain to be active.
By police Police authorities often take actions permitted through vague and unclear laws to file complaints against individuals or even organizations for various 'immoral' activities. For example, kissing, hugging or even holding hands in public have been subject to complaint as public display of affection is a punishable offense with maximum 3 months imprisonment and/or fine under section 292 and section 294 of Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita which does not define but rather leaves to the discretion of the courts to decide what constitutes as an offending action. Politicians cite Information Technology (IT) Act to call for monitoring and blocking of social media for 'vulgar' content under cyber wing of police departments due to the power it grants as well as its unclear definitions, having the potential to emerge as new methods for censorship. Despite the repeal of section 66A of the Act in 2015 by the Supreme Court, most police departments continued to use it. Following increasing incidents of moral policing involving police officers, the Supreme Court of India issued an advisory against indulging in any kind of moral policing by police officers in December 2022. In September 2000, Mumbai Police banned kissing in the Marine Drive area citing Section of 110 Mumbai Police Act, 1951 which allows the police to interfere in "disorderly behaviour." The decree was later withdrawn after protests. On 19 December 2005, police personnel raided a public park in Meerut, accompanied by cameras crews from TV channels. They attacked couples sitting in the park in front of cameras. The raid was termed "Operation Majnu" (named after the folklore) and it was claimed by the police that the purpose was to check sexual harassment. On 29 November 2011, the Ghaziabad police launched its own "Operation Majnu". The police caught couples in parks and made the men do sit-ups in front of TV cameras. The head of the operation an officer called Alka Pandey said it was to prevent "innocent girls being trapped by boys with evil motives".