Kerala IPS officer's 14-second 'annoying' stare rule can get men booked

Kerala Excise Commissioner Rishiraj Singh while speaking at an event held in Kochi on Sunday reportedly said, “A case can be filed against men who 'annoyingly' stare at women for more than 14 seconds."

File image of Rishiraj Singh. CNN-News18

The event, according to an article by The Indian Express, was about women’s safety.

During the event, he also urged women to come forward and speak up against physical or sexual harassment that they face. India Today reported that he asked all women to carry small knives or pepper sprays to defend themselves.

He also emphasised on the importance of learning martial arts as a life skill.

Supreme Court lawyers KV Dhananjaya called it a “mindless” statement. “There is no such provision in any law of this country and there cannot be such a mindless provision of law in any other country of the world. Period.”

Sports minister EP Jayarajan termed the comments as "disgusting".

Although the Justice Verma committee recognised and recommended punishments for sexual offences like voyeurism, stalking and acid attacks, stalking is still out of the purview of the law.

Twitteratti, like they usually troll the weirdest and stupidest, have trolled Singh. Here are some of the hilarious tweets:

@vasudevan_k Instead of courting, everybody will be counting.

— Raj (@chennaikaran) August 15, 2016

Start singing 'Ek do teen' and get arrested as soon as the first line ends. #14secondrule

— సంగీత కొడితాల (@skodithala) August 15, 2016

Expect a rise in usage of stopwatches in Kerala. #14secondrule #rishirajsingh

— Varun Nair (@varunnair) August 15, 2016

What if someone stares for 13.9999999 seconds. Math wins. Rule to be followed #14secondrule #rishirajsingh

— Gautham Reddy (@Gautham_rdy) August 16, 2016