Minister condemns HC ruling in sexual assault case, seeks SC intervention

Allahabad High Court judge Ram Manohar Narayan Mishra ruled in favour of two men in a sexual assault case, who had challenged a decision by the lower court to summon them under charges of rape

Condemning the recent judgement made by Allahabad High Court judge in a sexual assault case, Union Minister for Women and Child Development Annapurna Devi on Friday called it “wrong” and has sought the Supreme Court’s intervention in the matter.

 

Her remarks came a day after Allahabad High Court judge Ram Manohar Narayan Mishra ruled, “Act of grabbing a woman’s breast and snapping the string of her pyjama does not constitute rape but instead falls under the category of assault with intent to disrobe.”

 

Justice Mishra ruled in favour of two men in a sexual assault case, who had challenged a decision made by the lower court to summon them under charges of rape. The case pertains to a 2021 incident in which a minor girl in Uttar Pradesh’s Kasganj was attacked by two men – Pawan and Akash.

 

 

According to a PTI report, Annapurna Devi said that she “completely disagrees” with the verdict. “I am completely against this decision and the Supreme Court should take serious note of it. Such a ruling has no place in a civilised society,” she said.

 

She has also expressed concern over the broader implication of the judgement, adding that it could send a wrong message to society.

 

Other women leaders have also called out the judgement and sought for Supreme Court's intervention. According to an NDTV report, Trinamool Congress MP June Malia said, “It is quite disgusting the way there is a complete disregard of women by and large in the country, which we need to get over with.”

 

Swati Maliwal, former Delhi Commission for Women (DCW) chief condemned the ruling and said, “Very unfortunate. I am very shocked at the comments made in the judgment. It is a very shameful scenario. How can the act that was committed by those men cannot be taken as an act amounting to rape? I don't understand the logic behind this judgment. The Supreme Court needs to step in.”

 

Case details

The case dates back to November 2021, when the victim along with her mother were returning home from a relative’s place, the accused offered a lift to the minor and assured to drop her home. According to the prosecution, the accused and the victim belonged to the same village.

 

The accused then stopped on the way and allegedly assaulted her. According to the complaint, two accused grabbed her inappropriately, while the third accused tried to drag her beneath a culvert and broke her pyjama string. The assault was interrupted when two passersby arrived at the scene, drawn by the victim’s cries for help.

 

After the complaint was registered, a trial court summoned the accused under Section 376 with Section 18 (attempt to commit an offence) and found it to be a case of attempt to rape under the Pocso Act.

 

The accused challenged the order in the Allahabad High Court and claimed that even though the complaint version is taken at its face value, no offence has been committed under Section 376.

 

What did the High Court say 

The bench ruled that there is no evidence on record to show that the men had determined to rape the girl.

 

According to a LiveLaw report, the judge in his order observed that the witnesses had not stated that due to this act, the victim got naked or undressed.