The act of removing a minor girl’s innerwear and then getting naked yourself does not amount to an ‘attempt to commit rape’ but it would be considered an offence of outraging the woman’s modesty, Rajasthan High Court said while giving a ruling in a 33-year-old case.
Delivering judgment in the case of Suwalal Son Of Gopi By Caste Raigar vs State, the bench of Justice Anup Kumar Dhand stated that taking off a girl’s underwear and becoming completely naked oneself, does not fall under Section 376 and Section 511 of the Indian Penal Code (IPC) and will not attract the offence of ‘attempt to commit rape’.
Emphasising what constitutes an “attempt”, the single-judge bench said the accused must have gone beyond the stage of preparation.
The court ruled that the act would attract the offence of ‘outraging the modesty of a woman’ punishable under Section 354 of the IPC.
“In my opinion, from these facts, no case for an offence under Section 376/511 I.P.C. can be held to be proved. In other words, the accused appellant cannot be held to be guilty of attempt to commit rape. The prosecution has been able to prove the case of assault or use of illegal force on the prosecutrix with an intention to outrage her modesty or with knowledge that her modesty was likely to be outraged. Thus, it is a clear case of Section 354 I.P.C. as the act of the present accused has not proceeded beyond the stage of preparation,” the judge said.
Brief History Of Case
The court was hearing the case where the complainant approached the police in Todaraisingh, in Tonk district saying that on March 9, 1991, his grand-daughter, aged about 6 years, was drinking water at the Pyau (Water Booth), where the accused Suvalal came around 8:00 pm and forcefully took her into nearby Dharamshala with an intention to commit rape on her.
When the girl raised a hue and cry, the villagers arrived and rescued her,
otherwise, the accused might have committed rape on her, the complainant said.
Accused Suvalal was just 25 years old when he committed the crime.
What Rajasthan HC Judge Said?
While delivering the verdict, Justice Dhand referred to cases like Damodar Behera vs Odisha and Sittu vs Rajasthan State, where the accused forcibly stripped a girl naked and, despite her resistance, tried to have physical relations with her. In these cases, the act was considered attempted rape.
As per the court, three stages need to be fulfilled for any act to be punishable under the offence of “attempted rape”.
“The first stage exists when the culprit first entertains the idea or intention to commit an offence. In the second stage, he makes preparations to commit it. The third stage is reached when the culprit takes deliberate overt steps to commit the offence,” it said.
For an offence of an attempt to commit rape, the prosecution must establish that it has gone beyond the stage of preparation, it added.
As per the case details, the 6-year-old prosecutrix alleged that the accused undressed them both and fled the scene when she called for help. However, there was no allegation that the accused attempted penetration.
HC Modifies Trial Court Order
The District Court Of Tonk convicted Suvalal of attempting rape. He remained in jail for two and a half months during the trial.
The court modified Sections 376/511 under which the trial court had convicted him and changed it to Section 354.
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