Indian Courts Interpret Stalking Law Narrowly, Ignoring Single Incidents

Imagine there are rules in India to protect people from being followed or bothered constantly, which is called stalking.

Some judges are looking at these rules and saying that for someone to be a stalker, they have to do the bothering thing more than once.

For example, if someone just takes one picture of you without asking, a judge might say that's not stalking yet because it only happened one time.

This worries people who help victims because even one time of being bothered can be really scary and make someone feel unsafe.

They believe that even one act of invasion, like taking a photo or following someone, can be enough to cause a lot of fear.

The law, as it is being interpreted, seems to be waiting for the bad behavior to happen many times before it steps in to help.

This is especially a problem now with technology, where people can stalk others online or through their phones with just one action.

Experts suggest that the law should focus more on how much a single act harms a person's feelings of safety, not just how many times it happens.