Delhi kissing fine rises ten-fold

NEW DELHI:  Kissing in public has just gotten 10 times more expensive for couples in India's capital, who face fines of 500 rupees  if they are caught making "illegal use" of public spaces. 

New Delhi's authorities found a fine of 50 rupees levied under a 1936 law was too little to deter couples from stealing kisses, newspaper reorts said. 

Sindhushree Khullar, chairwoman of the New Delhi Municipal Corporation, was quoted in the report as saying the 50 rupee fine "might have been effective during that period (1936). 

"But now we have to seriously review the old regulations to monitor public behaviour."   

Khullar said she hoped the ten-fold increase would stop couples being intimate in public.

"Since most people visit parks with families, couples found in a compromising position cause embarrassment. We want to monitor the activities of such couples," she said.   

In December, TV channels showed footage of police in the northern town of Meerut beating up young couples sitting together in parks.   

An Israeli couple who were married in India's Hindu holy city of Pushkar last year were fined 1,000 rupees for kissing in public just before the conclusion of rituals.