PPC § 509 — Insulting modesty or causing sexual harassment

Statutory text (English)

Whoever,—
(i) intending to insult the modesty of any woman, utters any word, makes any
sound or gesture, or exhibits any object, intending that such word or sound shall
be heard, or that such gesture or object shall be seen, by such woman, or intrudes
upon the privacy of such woman;
(ii) conduct sexual advances, or demand sexual favours or uses verbal or non-verbal
communication or physical conduct of a sexual nature which intends to annoy,
insult, intimidate or threaten the other person or commits such acts at the
premises of workplace, or makes submission to such conduct either explicitly
or implicitly a term or condition of an individuals employment, or makes
submission to or rejection of such conduct by an individual a basis for
employment decision affecting such individual, or retaliates because of
rejection of such behaviour, or conducts such behaviour with the intention of
unreasonably interfering with an individual’s work performance or creating an
intimidating, hostile, or offensive working environment;
shall be punished with imprisonment which may extend to three years or with fine up to five
hundred thousand rupees or with both.

Explanation 1.— Such behaviour might occur in public place, including, but not limited to,
markets, public transport, streets or parks, or it might occur in private places including, but not limited
to workplaces, private gatherings, or homes.

Explanation 2.— Workplace means, the place of work or the premises where an organization
or employer operates, this may be a specific building, factory, open area or a larger geographical area
where the activities of the organization are carried out. Sexual advances may occur after working hours
and outside workplace. It is the access that perpetrator has to the person being harassed by virtue of a
job situation or job related functions and activities.].

Source and verification

Source citation: PPC (Act XLV of 1860) s.509: Pakistan Code portal consolidated official PDF 'THE PAKISTAN PENAL CODE' (Act No. XLV of 1860), p. 178, ingested 2026-09-15. Automated transcription from official source (pypdf extraction, audited artifact repair); human admin re-check required before production.

Verification status: verified · Text status: auto_transcribed_verified_source

The record cites an official source, but its transcription is automated or only partly checked; a human re-check is pending.

Official Urdu text status: pending_official_urdu_text. Where official Urdu wording has not been sourced, Qanoon does not substitute an unverified translation for the statutory text.

Historical text notes

1 historical record is linked to this section. Historical wording may be incomplete or pending verification; it is not presented as current law.

• Date not confirmed: Consolidated current text as published in the official Pakistan Code PDF (p. 178) — reflects all amendments recorded in the official footnotes up to ingest date 2026-09-15. Automated transcription; per-amendment…

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