KARNATAKA VIRAL VIDEO: A viral video by Manipal has sparked outrage on the Internet, in which a couple was captured in an act that many people have termed explicit and inappropriate in a public area. The video, which went viral on social media, has sparked the discussion about the notion of decency and personal liberties, as well as the boundaries of acceptable behaviour in common places.
A couple in Karnataka caught indulging in PDA
Things got hot and heavy between a couple while standing on the roadside in the suburb of Manipal in Karnataka. The young duo can be seen openly smooching, not aware that their act was getting recorded on a camera.
Soon, a local intervenes in the couple’s PDA act and confronts the lovers in Kannada. The man then asks the local to please converse in Hindi, to which the latter doesn’t oblige. After a brief confrontation, the duo leaves the scene.
Shocking & unacceptable! A couple caught indulging in highly indecent behavior in public in Manipal. This is not PDA, this is openly disrespecting Indian culture, public decency, and the people around.
Manipal is an education hub students & families deserve better. Where are the… pic.twitter.com/8zJ9n9AsLo— ಸನಾತನ (सनातन) (@sanatan_kannada) April 24, 2026
Even though certain users criticised the action as insensitive and inappropriate, particularly in a city which has been regarded as a key education centre with students and families, others were against moral policing, saying that the emphasis should be on legality and not on subjective values of culture. The event has brought to the fore the grey area in expressing affection (PDA) and conduct that could contravene the law of public decency.
In India, what can be considered as an obscene act in society may lead to legal intervention under laws such as Section 294 of IPC, but usually judgment on the matter is relative and depends on the circumstances and enforcement.
How did the Internet react?
With the video still spreading, a lot of people are clamouring that the authorities investigate the incident and take necessary measures in case there was a violation of the law. The episode highlights the increasing conflict between the changing social standards and the traditional ones, particularly in the areas of social interactions between different communities.
Reacting to the viral video, one user stated, “I don’t like this kind of cringe PDA too but can we have similar vigilantism about calling people out on littering and enforcing cleanliness in our public areas?”
Another stated, “People still want to be in 1900s and then ask every fkn thing of first world country….grow up guys!!! There are more important things than social policing.”
An individual shared, “People like you go home and jerk off to porn and sleep, grow up virgin.” And, one concluded, “Is this what you find unacceptable? It’s between two consenting adults. If you are so hell-bent on teaching public decency, first punish yourself for filming others without consent.”
Previous PDA incidents in Karnataka
In May 2025, a young couple videos their love-making in the middle of a traffic jam in Bengaluru, which went viral and caused a huge uproar on social media, causing the traffic police of the city to take immediate steps. The incident was recorded by a passer by video and was widely shared on social media depicting the couple kissing and having intimate behaviour standing through the sunroof of a moving car.
The police located the car by its Karnataka registration number and fined the owner 1500, 1000 of which is for driving in a dangerous manner and the remaining 500 is a general traffic fine. Such behaviour, police said, is not only indecent in a public place, but also very irresponsible in terms of road safety because such behaviour may distract other road users and may cause risks in the overall safety of traffic.
