Supreme Court stays Allahabad HC order downgrading rape charges, cites ‘lack of sensitivity’

The Supreme Court of India has stayed an Allahabad High Court ruling that downgraded rape charges in a case involving the sexual assault of a minor girl.

The high court had concluded that grabbing the victim’s breasts, tearing the strings of her pyjamas, and dragging her under a culvert were not sufficient to charge the accused with rape or attempt to rape.

A bench of Justices B R Gavai and A G Masih expressed deep concern over the ruling, calling it “a total lack of sensitivity”.

The Supreme Court noted that the March 17 judgment was not delivered impulsively but was reserved for four months before being pronounced, which indicated that the judge had carefully considered it before issuing the verdict.

Taking suo motu cognizance, the Supreme Court registered a case on the matter and has now issued notices to the Centre, the Uttar Pradesh government, and the parties involved. The court has also requested the Solicitor General’s assistance in reviewing the case.

“We are at pains to say that some of the observations made in the impugned order… depict a total lack of sensitivity on the part of the author of the judgment,” the Supreme Court stated. Given that the ruling was inconsistent with established legal principles and lacked a humane approach, the top court decided to put it on hold.

The case dates back to November 10, 2021, when a woman from Kasganj, Uttar Pradesh, filed a complaint against three men. She alleged that while she was returning to her village with her minor daughter, two young men from the same village offered to drop her daughter home on their motorcycle. Trusting them, she allowed her daughter to go with them.

However, along the way, one of the youths allegedly groped her daughter’s breasts, while the other tore the strings of her pyjamas and attempted to drag her under a culvert. The assault was interrupted when two passersby heard the girl’s screams and intervened, forcing the accused to flee.

The woman also accused the father of one of the attackers of issuing death threats after she reported the assault. She initially approached the police for help, but no action was taken. She later sought justice through the Pocso court in Kasganj, which directed the police to register an FIR and recorded witness statements.

Based on the findings, the Pocso court summoned the two accused under IPC Section 376 (rape) and Section 18 of the Pocso Act (attempting to commit the offense). The father of one of the accused was also charged under Sections 504 (intentional insult to provoke breach of peace) and 506 (criminal intimidation) of the IPC.

However, the accused then challenged the Pocso court’s order in the Allahabad High Court, claiming that the allegations were false and motivated by family rivalry. Their counsel argued that the case was fabricated to “settle scores” and pointed out that one of the girl’s relatives had been accused in a previous molestation case filed by the mother of one of the accused in October 2021.

After reviewing the petition, a single-judge bench of the Allahabad High Court ruled that the incident did not amount to rape or attempt to rape. The court downgraded the charges to “assault with intent to disrobe” and directed the Pocso court to issue fresh summons under lighter charges, including Section 354(b) of the IPC (assault on a woman with intent to disrobe) and Sections 9/10 of the Pocso Act (aggravated sexual assault).

The high court stated: “Grabbing the breasts of the victim, tearing the strings of her pyjamas, and attempting to drag her under a culvert - before fleeing when passersby intervened - are not sufficient grounds to charge the accused with rape or attempt to rape.”

The Supreme Court took serious note of the problematic reasoning in the high court’s judgment and decided to stay its order. The apex court emphasised that such interpretations of the law fail to uphold the gravity of sexual violence and set a dangerous precedent.