'Time For Reawakening': Experts Condemn Allahabad HC Ruling On Rape, Call For Restraint By Judges
The high court ruled that actions like grabbing of breasts and breaking of string of a "pyjama" or lowers of a woman did not amount to rape.
Legal experts on Friday deplored the observation of the Allahabad High Court on what constitutes a rape charge, calling for a restraint by judges and underlining the drop in public confidence in the judiciary due to such statements.
The high court ruled that actions like grabbing of breasts and breaking of string of a "pyjama" or lowers of a woman did not amount to rape.
Senior advocate and former additional solicitor general of India Pinky Anand pointed out in the present day and age, particularly in the aftermath of cases such as Satish v. State of Maharashtra where the Supreme Court deprecated the dilution of sexual crimes, the Allahabad high court ruling diluted a heinous crime of attempt to rape which was a travesty of justice.
"The case based on the facts such as grabbing breasts, pulling the strings on her pyjama, and trying to drag her beneath the culvert and the fact that they only ran away due to intervention, falls squarely in the category of attempt to rape, where all possible actions have been taken to rape an 11-year-old girl," she told PTI.
Anand declared a time had come for a "reawakening".
"Violators of the law and offenders against women and children cannot get away and the judgment clearly errs by ignoring this. I am sure that appropriate reversals would be made to such a judgment and justice will be done," she added.
Senior advocate and Supreme Court Bar Association president Kapil Sibal took to X, saying, "God save this country with such judges adorning the Bench! The Supreme Court has been too soft in dealing with errant judges (sic)." Sibal subsequently said judges, especially those from the high courts, should refrain from making such statements, as it would "send wrong message to the society and people will lose faith in the judiciary".
"I think giving such controversial statement is improper, because in current time, whatever the judges say sends a message to the society. If the judges, especially those from the high courts, give such statements, it will send wrong message to the society and people will lose faith in the judiciary," he said.
Senior advocate Vikas Pahwa said the interpretation of the Allahabad High Court appeared to set a concerning precedent by narrowly defining what constitutes an attempt to rape.
He said that the alleged actions of "grabbing breasts, pulling down the pajamas, and dragging the girl towards the culvert" strongly indicated an intent to commit rape, arguably surpassing mere preparation and entering the realm of attempt to rape.
"Decisions like this risk undermining public confidence in the judicial system's commitment to protecting victims of sexual violence. They may also discourage survivors from coming forward, fearing that their experiences will be minimized or dismissed. It is imperative that the judiciary adopts a more victim-centric approach, ensuring that actions indicative of an intent to commit rape are appropriately recognised and prosecuted to uphold justice and deter potential offenders," Pahwa said.
He further said that at the summoning stage, courts typically assess whether there is a prima facie case based on the allegations, without delving deeply into the evaluation of evidence.
"By re-evaluating the nature of the offense at this preliminary stage, the High Court may have overstepped, as such determinations are generally reserved for the trial phase," he said.
Echoing his views, senior advocate P K Dubey said such an observation was not warranted.
"There is no place of personal views of a judge, and a judge must follow settled law and jurisprudence," he said.
In the matters involving sexual offences the test is whether there is an expression of sexual desire in any form coupled with the fact that the act committed, caused injury to the person on whom the act was committed, he added.
"This constitutes a sexual act and one can be punished according to and penetration is not required which is held in various judgements. Mere touching the private part of victim is sufficient and amounts to rape," Dubey said.
The 2021 case has an 11-year-old girl survivor from Uttar Pradesh's Kasganj and involves two accused men.
Allahabad High Court bench of Justice Ram Manohar Narayan Mishra ruled mere grabbing of breasts and breaking of the string of a 'pyjama' do not amount to offence of rape but such offence falls under the ambit of assault or use of criminal force against any woman with the intent to disrobe or compel her to be naked.
(This report has been published as part of the auto-generated syndicate wire feed. Apart from the headline, no editing has been done in the copy by ABP Live.)
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