SC halts Allahabad HC's "Grabbing Breasts Not Rape Attempt" verdict

Guwahati: The Supreme Court of India on Wednesday stayed a controversial order issued by the Allahabad High Court, which had ruled that grabbing the breasts of a minor girl, pulling the string of her pyjama, and attempting to drag her beneath a culvert did not constitute an attempt to rape.

Instead, the High Court had classified the acts as "aggravated sexual assault" under the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act, which carries a lesser punishment.

During the hearing, Justices B.R. Gavai and A.G. Masih strongly disagreed with the High Court's decision, which sparked public outrage.

The Supreme Court bench expressed its shock and criticized the High Court for exhibiting "total insensitivity" in handling the case.

"We are at pains to say that some of the observations made in the impugned judgment, particularly paragraphs 21, 24, and 26, depict a total lack of sensitivity on the part of the author of the judgment," the bench observed in its ruling.

The bench pointed out that the judgment was not issued hastily but followed nearly four months of deliberation, meaning the judge had ample time to carefully consider the case.

Despite this, the Supreme Court noted that the observations in the High Court’s ruling were "totally
unknown to the tenets of law" and reflected an "inhuman approach."

As a result, the Supreme Court decided to stay the controversial observations made by the Allahabad High Court.

The Supreme Court has issued notices to the Union of India, the State of Uttar Pradesh, and the parties involved in the case. Solicitor General of India Tushar Mehta, who appeared in the court, denounced the High Court's judgment, calling it "shocking."

The Supreme Court took cognizance of the case based on a letter sent by an NGO 'We the Women of India'.

In addition, the victim's mother has filed an appeal before the top court, which has now been tagged with the suo motu case.

It is a case involving two men, Pawan and Akash, who allegedly grabbed the minor’s breasts, tore her pyjama string, and attempted to drag her under a culvert while she was walking with her mother.

The concerned trial court initially invoked Section 376 with Section 18 (attempt to commit an offense) of the POCSO Act and issued a summoning order under these sections.

However, the Allahabad HC ruled that their actions did not qualify as rape or an attempt to rape but instead fell under the lesser charge of aggravated sexual assault, punishable under Section 354(B) IPC (assault or use of criminal force with intent to disrobe) read with Sections 9/10 of the POCSO Act (aggravated sexual assault).

The order created a huge controversy, with several members of the public criticizing it.

“The allegations leveled against the accused Pawan and Akash and facts of the case hardly constitute an offense of attempt to rape in the case. To bring out a charge of attempt to rape the prosecution must establish that it had gone beyond the stage of preparation. The difference between preparation and actual attempt to commit an offense consists chiefly in the greater degree of determination,” a bench of Justice Ram Manohar Narayan Mishra observed as it partly allowed the criminal revision plea filed by 3 accused.

Recently, the Supreme Court bench of Justices Bela M. Trivedi and PB Varale dismissed an Article 32 writ petition challenging the order on grounds of locus.