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The Supreme Court has halted a controversial ruling by the Allahabad High Court in a child abuse case, criticizing it for displaying a “total lack of sensitivity.” The ruling, which stated that grabbing a child’s breast and pulling the string of her pyjama did not constitute an attempt to rape, faced severe backlash. A bench comprising Justice BR Gavai and Justice Augustine George Masih expressed its dismay over the verdict and sought responses from the Centre and the Uttar Pradesh government.
“We are pained to state that it shows a total lack of sensitivity on the part of the author of the judgment. It was not even at the spur of the moment and was delivered four months after being reserved. Thus, there was an application of mind. We are usually hesitant to grant a stay at this stage, but since the observations in paragraphs 21, 24, and 26 are unknown to the cannons of law and show an inhuman approach, we stay those observations,” the court stated.
Solicitor General Tushar Mehta agreed with the bench, acknowledging that “some judgments contain reasons for staying them.” Justice Gavai added, “It is a serious matter. Total insensitivity on the part of the judge. This was at the stage of issuing summons! We are sorry to use such harsh words against the judge.”
The Supreme Court took suo motu cognizance of the matter after the organization ‘We the Women of India’ flagged the high court ruling. The victim’s mother also filed an appeal, which has now been clubbed with the suo motu case.
The judgment, delivered on March 17 by Justice Ram Manohar Narayan Mishra of the Allahabad High Court, dealt with an appeal by the accused against a lower court’s order summoning them under Section 376 of the Indian Penal Code (IPC), which pertains to rape.
The high court ruling stated, “The allegation against accused Pawan and Akash is that they grabbed the breasts of the victim, and Akash tried to lower her garments by breaking the string of her pyjama. They also attempted to drag her beneath the culvert but fled when witnesses arrived. However, apart from these acts, no other action is attributed to them to further an alleged desire to commit rape.”
This ruling has come under scrutiny, with critics questioning whether an attempt to undress a girl against her will does not qualify as an attempt to rape.
According to the minor victim’s mother, the accused had offered her daughter a lift home but instead stopped their motorcycle on a deserted path. They then allegedly grabbed her breasts, attempted to pull her beneath a culvert, and broke the string of her pyjama. Witnesses arriving on a tractor intervened upon hearing the girl’s cries. The accused then threatened them with a country-made pistol before fleeing.
The lower court had summoned the accused under IPC Section 376 (rape) along with Section 18 of the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act. However, the Allahabad High Court struck this down, arguing that an attempt to rape must go “beyond the stage of preparation.”
The ruling has drawn widespread condemnation, with legal experts and activists questioning its logic. Senior jurist Indira Jaising was among those who called for the Supreme Court to take suo motu cognizance of the case. Many have asked what would qualify as an attempt to rape if forcibly undressing a girl does not meet the criteria.
Earlier, a Supreme Court bench led by Justice Bela Trivedi and Justice Prasanna B Varale had declined to entertain a petition challenging the Allahabad High Court’s ruling. However, in the latest hearing, the top court took a firm stand, staying the judgment and issuing a notice to the Union government.
Advocate Rachna Tyagi, representing the survivor’s mother, welcomed the Supreme Court’s intervention. “The Supreme Court has taken cognizance of the serious observations made by the Allahabad High Court and stayed that judgment. The Supreme Court has also issued notice to the Union of India,” she said.
The case now awaits further proceedings as legal and public scrutiny over the high court ruling intensifies.
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