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mute spectators to such ghastly incident, etc. Sec.294(a) of the I.P.C. reads as follows:
"Sec.294:Obscene acts and songs.-Whoever, to the annoyance of others -
(a) does any obscene act in any public place, or xxx xxx xxx"
Sec.292 of the I.P.C. reads as follows:
"Sec.292:Sale, etc. of obscene books, etc. (1) For the purposes of sub-section (2), a book, pamphlet, paper, writing, drawing, painting representation, figure or any other object, shall be deemed to be obscene if it is lascivious or appeals to the prurient interest or if its effect, or (where it comprises two or more distinct items) the effect of any one of its items, is taken as a whole, such as to tend to deprave and corrupt persons who are likely, having regard to all relevant circumstances, to read, see or hear the matter contained or embodied in it.
message to the people against the practice of apartheid/racism and that love triumphs over hatred. The Apex Court held therein that the impugned photograph was not obscene and that no offence is committed under Sec. 292 and that the learned Judicial Magistrate erred in initiating proceedings under Sec.292 of the I.P.C. and Sec.4 of the Indecent Representation of Women (Prohibition) Act, without due application of mind and that the High Court in the impugned judgment therein had also erred in refusing to quash the impugned criminal proceedings in exercise of powers under Sec.482 of the Cr.P.C. Accordingly, the Apex Court quashed the impugned criminal proceedings. The Apex Court held that in order to constitute the offence under Sec.292(1) of the I.P.C., the impugned picture or article, in order to be obscene, should satisfy the following ingredients: (i) if it is lascivious; (ii) it appeals to the prurient interest; and (iii) it tends to deprave and corrupt persons who are likely to read, see or hear the matter, alleged to be obscene. It will be profitable to refer to paragraphs 23 to 30 of the case in Aveek Sarkar's case supra, which read as follows:
(emphasis supplied)
25. In Ajay Goswami v. Union of India [(2007) 1SCC 143], while examining the scope of Section 292 IPC and Sections 3, 4 and 6 of the Indecent Representation of Women (Prohibition) Act, 1986, this Court held that: (SCC p. 170, para 70) "70. ... `45. ... [The] commitment to freedom of expression demands that it cannot be suppressed unless the situations created by it allowing the freedom are pressing and the community interest is endangered.'**"
the article published in the German magazine, speaks of the racial discrimination prevalent in Germany and the article highlights Boris Becker's protests against racism in Germany. Boris Becker himself puts it, as quoted in the said article:
"the nude photos were supposed to shock, no doubt about it... What I am saying with these photos is that an interracial relationship is okay."

28. The message, the photograph wants to convey is that the colour of skin matters little and love champions over colour. The picture promotes love affair, leading to a marriage, between a white- skinned man and a black-skinned woman. We should, therefore, appreciate the photograph and the article in the light of the message it wants to convey, that is to eradicate the evil of racism and apartheid in the society and to promote love and marriage between white-skinned man and a black-skinned woman. When viewed in that angle, we are not prepared to say that the picture or the article which was reproduced by Sports World and the Anandabazar Patrika be said to be objectionable so as to initiate proceedings under Section 292 IPC or under Section 4 of the Indecent Representation of Women (Prohibition) Act, 1986.