Manas Dasgupta
NEW DELHI, Mar 21: The Allahabad High Court’s recent judgement on what constituted rape and downgrading the charges of molestation of an 11-year old girl has shocked the country and many have sought the Supreme Court’s intervention to rectify the situation to ensure that it did not send wrong message to the society.
People from all sections of society and across the political spectrum have slammed the ruling by Justice Ram Manohar Narayan Mishra.
Union Minister for Women and Child Development Annpurna Devi on Friday said she “completely disagreed” with the ruling on what constituted rape or attempt to rape and urged the Supreme Court to intervene in the matter.
The High Court, in an order earlier this week, ruled that “mere grabbing of breasts and snapping of pyjama strings of the girl did not amount to rape or even attempt to rape” and the accused could not be charged accordingly and the crime fell under the ambit of assault or use of criminal force against any woman with the intent to disrobe or compel her to be naked.
“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,” Ms Devi said. She also expressed concern over the broader implications of the judgment, warning that it could send the wrong message to society. “Somewhere, this will have a negative impact on society and we will discuss this matter further,” she added.
The case involved an 11-year-old girl in Uttar Pradesh, who was assaulted by two accused, identified as Pawan and Akash, in 2021. The accused grabbed her breasts, snapped her pyjama strings and attempted to drag her under a culvert. The assailants fled when passers-by intervened. In the court, the girl did not give any statement but stood silent with tears streaming down her cheeks.
Senior advocate Indira Jaising called for the Supreme Court to take suo motu cognisance in the matter. “Judges have been pulled up for much less by SC,” she said.
National Human Rights Commission member Priyank Kanoongo said the ruling was unjust and urged the State government to immediately appeal it. “The victim is only 11 years old. Under Sections 29 and 30 of the POCSO Act, it is the responsibility of the defence to prove the accused innocent, therefore the burden of proving guilt does not lie with the prosecution,” he said.
Mr Kanoongo, who earlier headed the National Commission for Protection of Child Rights said it was “peculiar that the forcible removal of clothes was not considered an attempt to rape. Expecting such a young girl to understand the definition of rape and explain it to the court is nothing short of an injustice, he added. “Such decisions are used as precedents in a wrong manner by criminals. Therefore, the State government should immediately appeal in this case,” he said.
BJP MP Rekha Sharma, a former chairperson of the National Commission for Women, asked, “If judges are not sensitised, how will women and children get justice?” Congress leader Supriya Shrinate noted that the trial court had termed it a case of attempted rape under the POCSO Act, but the Allahabad High Court downgraded the charges. “Is this justice for that 11-year-old girl? For information, let me tell you that India is one of the most unsafe countries in the world for women,” she said.
Rajya Sabha MP Swati Maliwal also slammed the ruling as “shameful” and “absolutely wrong.” She questioned the message such a ruling sent to society, particularly regarding crimes against children. “This is deeply shameful and absolutely wrong. What message do they want to give to society? That a young girl can be subjected to such horrific acts and it still won’t be considered rape?” she told reporters outside Parliament.
CPI general secretary D. Raja has also slammed the judge’s remarks on sexual violence as “appalling.” “Grabbing breasts or snapping a pyjama string isn’t ‘attempt to rape’? This trivialises sexual violence and shows the tight grip of patriarchy on our institutions. The law must prioritise survivors’ trauma, not minimise it,” he said in a post on X. “People see the judiciary as the last hope and such conduct puts a question mark before the credibility of the judiciary. Shameful!” he added.
Acharya Lokesh Muni, a Jain monk, asked the Supreme Court and the President of India to take cognisance of the matter as “crores of people have been hurt by this decision.” Advocate Vikas Pahwa said such orders give a bad signal to society on criminal justice, throwing doubt on the assurance that if somebody commits an offence, he will be punished.
