Supreme Court questions Patna High Court ruling on attempt to rape

The Supreme Court on Wednesday expressed concern over a recent Patna High Court judgment which held that allegations of attempting to remove a woman's salwar and inappropriately touching her did not amount to an attempt to rape, indicating that it would issue a detailed order on the matter.

A Bench comprising justices Surya Kant, Joymalya Bagchi and V. Mohan heard the issue during proceedings in a suo motu case relating to judicial handling of sexual offence cases.

The matter was raised before the Bench by senior advocate Shobha Gupta, who argued that despite the Supreme Court having previously set aside a controversial Allahabad High Court judgment in a similar matter, comparable observations had now been made by the Patna High Court.

Gupta submitted that such rulings continued to emerge even after the apex court had clarified the legal position. Senior advocate H.S. Phoolka also supported the submissions.

Responding to the concerns, Justice Surya Kant observed that such judgments often resulted from inadequate legal research and insufficient examination of the applicable law. He said the Supreme Court would make detailed observations on the Patna High Court's ruling in its forthcoming order.

The issue arose during the hearing of a suo motu case initiated by the apex court after the Allahabad High Court's controversial observations in another sexual offence case. In those proceedings, the Supreme Court had directed the National Judicial Academy to frame guidelines aimed at improving judicial sensitivity while dealing with cases involving sexual offences.

The Patna High Court case relates to an incident reported in the Amarpur police station area of Bihar's Banka district.

According to the prosecution, the victim had accompanied her father to a photography studio owned by a man identified as Himanshu. The complaint alleges that the accused asked the victim's father to wait outside before taking the woman into a room, locking the door, attempting to remove her salwar and grabbing her breasts with the intention of raping her.

The prosecution said the victim raised an alarm, following which her father forced open the door and the accused fled the scene.

The Supreme Court is expected to clarify the legal interpretation of what constitutes an attempt to rape in such circumstances, with it's ruling likely to provide broader guidance to courts dealing with sexual offence cases.

With IANS inputs