Sexual assault on a dead body is not rape, rules Karnataka High Court

The Karnataka High Court said that necrophilia, defined as having sexual intercourse with a corpse, was not a punishable offence under current laws

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Sexual assault on a dead body will not be considered 'rape', the Karnataka High Court has ruled.

The court cited Section 376 of the Indian Penal Code (IPC) in stating that a dead body cannot be called a human or person. With this, the court also acquitted a man of rape charges. The man was accused of murdering a 21-year-old girl and then sexually assaulting her dead body.

“A careful reading of the provisions of Sections 375 and 377 of the IPC makes it clear that the dead body cannot be called as human or person. Thereby, the provisions of sections 375 or 377 of the IPC would not attract," the court was quoted as saying by LiveLaw.

The Karnataka High Court clarified that necrophilia, defined as having sexual intercourse with a corpse, was not a punishable offence under current laws. However, it directed the government to pass legislation making such acts punishable.

“It is high time that the central government, in order to maintain right to dignity of the dead person, to amend the provision of Section 377 of IPC to include dead body….or to introduce a separate provision as offence against dead woman as necrophilia or sadism…,” the court noted, reports Indian Express.

The proposed change would also make explicit mentions of both human and animal corpses.

These provisions have already been put into effect in a number of nations, including the UK, Canada, New Zealand, and South Africa.

The court also ordered the installation of CCTVs in Karnataka morgues within six months and directed the government to maintain hygiene and privacy, ensure the security of clinical records and information, and sensitise mortuary staff.