INTRODUCTION
The Hon’ble High Court of Allahabad has recently altered the charges against the accused in a rape case relying on the fact that the crime never went beyond the stage of preparation and hence the same cannot be considered as rape but rather an offence under section 354 which deals with the charge of assault or abuse of woman with intent to disrobing or compelling her to be naked. This observation sparked controversy as the victim was a minor when the offence was committed against her and further the offence is of heinous in nature. The observation of the Hon’ble Court despite being extremely inhumane and insensitive towards the victim, it followed the law in its strictest sense as the offence of rape do require the offence to go beyond the stage of preparation and in the current case that did not take place.
BACKGROUND
The incident from which the case stems happened on 17 March, 2021. The facts of the case can be summarized through a two-fold submission. Firstly, the offence took place when the victim agreed to take the help of the three accused to reach her destination and enroute to the destination, the accused stopped the vehicle. Secondly, the accused tried to drag her beneath a culvert and simultaneously grabbed her breasts and attempted to break her lower garment string, a passerby saw this and immediately alerted everyone nearby and the accused were chased away.
KEY POINTS
From the observations and the facts of the case, the case can be succinctly summarized into 3 points.
- Firstly, the facts of the case clearly outline the intent of the accused to commit the crime of rape and the facts of the case succinctly demonstrate both the mens rea and the actus reus of the accused. The act of grabbing the breast and attempting to break the string of the victim’s lower garment.
- Secondly, the case was filed under section 376 of IPC and a case under section 9 and 10 of POCSO, 2012 was made. The prosecution needs to prove the happening of the crime beyond reasonable doubt and the prosecution did successfully establish essential facts necessary for the crime to be proved sufficiently.
- Thirdly, the hon’ble high court was approached in an appeal from the sessions court and the hon’ble court acquitted the accused from the charged offences based on an extremely strict interpretation of the provisions involved which state the necessity for the offence to go beyond the stage of preparation for it to be considered an offence within the meaning of section 376 of IPC.
RECENT DEVELOPMENTS
The hon’ble Supreme Court took up the case in a suo moto proceeding and the hon’ble court expressed displeasure with respect to the comment made by the hon’ble judge who was dealing with the case. The observation being, merely grabbing the breast and attempting to break the string of the lower garment of the victim is not sufficient to establish a case under section 376 IPC but rather is a minor offence within the meaning of section 354 of IPC. The Hon’ble Supreme court has stayed the observation and commented that the view taken by the judge is extremely inhumane and insensitive towards a minor victim. Further, the court stated that the court despite being hesitant to grant a stay of such nature is inclined to provide stay as the observation may have unwarranted consequences.
CONCLUSION
The statement of the Hon’ble Judge of the High Court of Allahabad and the comments made by the Hon’ble Supreme court clearly provides the need to have a sensitive and humane approach when dealing with offences that are serious in nature as is seen in the current case. The hon’ble supreme court went on to stay the observation and is prepared to make necessary orders to correct the inhumane and insensitive approach of the Hon’ble High court of Allahabad.
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WRITTEN BY LALITHA SASANKA G
