The Supreme Court (SC) on Tuesday expressed deep concern over a recent ruling delivered by the Patna High Court (HC), which held that attempting to remove a woman’s salwar and pressing her breasts did not amount to an offence of rape. The Apex court criticised the reasoning adopted by the Patna HC, and the Chief Justice of India (CJI) observed that there appeared to be a ‘lack of thorough research’ before such verdicts were delivered.

The issue was listed before an SC bench comprising CJI Surya Kant, Justice Joymalya Bagchi and Justice V Mohan during the hearing of the court’s proceedings on judicial approaches in cases involving sexual offences.

Senior advocate Shobha Gupta drew the bench’s attention to the controversial verdict, contending that the observations warranted judicial scrutiny.

Top court raps HC over judicial approach

Notably, the matter surfaced while the SC was already examining another controversial ruling delivered by the Allahabad HC, which held that grabbing a minor girl’s breasts, breaking the drawstring of her pyjamas and attempting to drag her beneath a culvert did not amount to rape.

Referring to the Patna HC judgment, CJI Kant remarked that greater judicial application of mind was required before delivering such verdicts.

He said, “There is a lack of thorough research. The staff is doing nothing,” while expressing concern over the quality of legal assistance and research supporting judicial decisions.

The Bench indicated that it would pass a detailed order specifically addressing the observations made by the Patna HC.

SC approves judicial sensitivity guidelines

During the hearing, the top court also gave nod to a report prepared by the National Judicial Academy’s Expert Committee, which lays down guidelines on judicial sensitivity in cases involving sexual offences.

The SC then issued directives to all courts across the country to strictly adhere to the language and expressions prescribed in the approved handbook while dealing with such cases.

Furthermore, the SC bench instructed the state governments to issue orders to all police stations to follow the handbook while registering First Information Reports (FIRs) and filing charge sheets. The court said a detailed, reasoned judgment on the issue would also be uploaded.

Details of the disputed verdict by Patna HC

A few days ago, the Patna HC made the aforementioned observations while hearing an appeal filed by a man convicted in a 2008 case involving allegations of attempt-to-rape. As per the prosecution, the survivor had accompanied her father to a photography studio in Bihar’s Amarpur.

After taking her photograph, the studio owner allegedly asked her father to wait outside, bolted the door from inside and attempted to sexually assault the woman. Her father was alerted when he heard her screams, while the accused fled the scene.

While a trial court had convicted the accused for attempt to rape and wrongful confinement, the HC overturned the conviction for attempted rape, holding that the prosecution had failed to establish the essential ingredients of the offence.

It noted that there was no medical evidence indicating penetration and observed that the investigating police officer had not been examined during the trial. It held that, even if the prosecution’s version was accepted in its entirety, the accused’s actions would constitute the offence of outraging the modesty of a woman under Section 354 of the Indian Penal Code (IPC), rather than an attempt to rape.