Moral police is an umbrella category of vigilante groups which act to enforce a code of morality in India. Some of India's laws, and some actions of police forces in India are also considered to be instances of moral policing. The target of moral policing is any activity that vigilante groups, the government or police deem to be "immoral" and/or "against Indian culture".
 India has several vigilante groups that claim to protect the Indian culture. They resist and oppose cultural concepts that they deem to have been imported from the Western culture. They have been known to attack bars and pubs. Some of these groups have attacked or have forced art exhibitions to shut down, where they claim obscene paintings were being displayed. Right-wing groups have canvassed door-to-door and put up posters against western-style clothing. Some have also condemned beauty parlours. Some members of the media have also colluded with such groups.[failed verification] Some politicians have supported such viewpoints and occasionally such activities.
 In India, the Sections 292 to 294 of the Indian Penal Code are used to deal with obscenity. Most of these laws date back to 1860. The Section 292 of the Indian Penal Code deals with sales and distribution of obscene books and other material. It criminalises materials like books and paintings if it is deemed to be "lascivious or appeals to the prurient interest". The Section 292 was amended in 1969 to exclude material that are for public good (like condom ads), scientific material, art and religious figures. Police also use Section 292 of the IPC to file cases against film posters and advertisement hoardings that are deemed to be "obscene".
 The Section 293 deals with the sale of obscene material to people under 20. The Section 294 of the Indian Penal Code deals with "obscene acts and songs" and it states that:
 Whoever, to the annoyance of others
 (a) Does any obscene act in any public place, or
(b) Sings, recites or utters any obscene song, ballad or words, in or near any public place,
 Shall be punished with imprisonment of either description for a term which may extend to three months, or with fine, or with both. There is no proper definition of an obscene act and it is open to interpretation. It is frequently used by the police to justify acts of moral policing.
 Immoral Traffic (Prevention) Act, 1956 (also known as Prevention of Immoral Traffic Act or PITA) was originally passed to prevent human trafficking. It allows police to raid hotels if they suspect a sex racket is being run there. Police have used this law to raid hotels and arrest consenting couples.
 India's obscenity laws have also been frequently compared to the Hicklin test.
 Valentine's Day is often opposed by groups like Shiv Sena and the moral police for being a western import. Vigilante groups have been known to attack gift and greeting card shops prior on the occasion. Couples are often beaten up for holding hands or kissing in public.
 Shiv Sena leader Uddhav Thackeray has called it an attack of the west on Indian culture and that it is attracting youth for commercial gain. Shiv Sena's former leader Bal Thackeray has said that people not wanting violence on the day should not celebrate it. He has also called the festival shameless and contrary to Indian culture. Occasionally, the police also try to restrict these groups but even though their activities flourish 'til the date.
 The Central Board of Film Certification (CBFC) or the Censor Board, which is tasked with regulating the public exhibition of films under the provisions of the "Cinematograph Act, 1952", has been accused of moral policing by some filmmakers. Director Anurag Kashyap has argued that it is infeasible to have a single body for a large and diverse country like India. Director Prakash Jha has pointed out that even if a film is certified by the Board, it is often not allowed a release in some states due to protests from local political parties or moral police. He has also said that the Board should be scrapped and each film-maker should simply state the type of content in the film because the society is mature enough to understand it. Sudhir Mishra has noted that censor committees have been influenced to giving films lighter ratings.
 The former chief of the Censor Board, Sharmila Tagore, has defended the body saying that it does not carried out moral policing. In August 2014, then chief of the Censor Board, Rakesh Kumar, was arrested for allegedly delaying certifications to films and demanding bribes to speed up the process.
 Throughout India, restrictions have been place by some state governments on timings for pubs, bars and other establishments that sell liquor.
 The Adolescence Education Programme (AEP) was a sex education program designed by the Ministry of Human Resource Development (India) and National AIDS Control Organisation (NACO) to implement the policies of the National AIDS Control Programme II (NACP II). However, it faced opposition in various states, including Gujarat, Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra, Karnataka, and Rajasthan.
 In 2009, following the 2009 Mangalore pub attack, an organisation called "Consortium of Pubgoing, Loose forward Women" started a movement called the "Pink chaddi campaign". The movement requested people to mail pink underwear to Pramod Muthalik the leader of Sri Ram Sena which was behind the attacks. About 34,000 people participated.
 In the state of Kerala, a public hugging and kissing campaign by name 'Kiss of Love' was launched in protest against moral policing on 2 November 2014. Similar events were later organized in Delhi, Kolkata, and various other cities.