'Can a woman be booked for molesting another woman?'

Can a woman be booked for molesting another woman under Section 354 of the Indian Penal Code?

This observation was made by the Bombay high court while hearing a petition filed by a 78-year-old woman seeking to quash a molestation case filed against her by a 55-year-old lady.

A division bench of Justices N H Patil and V L Achliya sought to know if a woman can be booked for molesting another woman.

"What is the legal position? If a woman is alleged to have committed such an act can she be held under the available section," the bench queried.

The court asked petitioner's counsel Pradeep Havnur to go through the legal position and posted the petition for further hearing after two weeks.

Vimalabai Shah and her family had approached the high court, seeking to quash a case lodged against them on March 1, 2010 for allegedly assaulting and molesting the lady in their building in suburban Mumbai.

According to Shah and her family, the complaint was filed in retaliation to a notice issued by Shah's son, who is the secretary of the building, to the complainant woman over alleged illegality in the transfer of her flat.

The Shah family and the complainant's family have been embroiled in a dispute since 2006 over this.

In 2009, the Shah family had lodged a case against them for allegedly threatening and assaulting Vimalabai.

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