GUWAHATI: The Supreme Court of India has taken suo motu cognisance of a case involving the alleged assault of an 11-year-old minor, staying a contentious order issued by the Allahabad High Court on Wednesday, March 26. The High Court's ruling, which concluded that grabbing the breasts of an minor girl, breaking the string of her pyjama, and attempting to drag her beneath a culvert did not come under "attempt to rape," has elicited strong condemnation from the Supreme Court.
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A bench comprising Justices B.R. Gavai and A.G. Masih intervened following public outcry and a letter from Senior Advocate Shobha Gupta, representing the NGO "We the Women of India." The Supreme Court expressed profound disagreement with the High Court's interpretation, characterising the ruling as "shocking" and indicative of a "total lack of sensitivity."
"We are at pains to say that some of the observations made in the impugned judgment, particularly paras 21, 24, and 26, depict a total lack of sensitivity on the part of the author of the judgment," the bench stated in its order.
The case involves accused individuals, Pawan and Akash, who were alleged to have grabbed the minor victim's breasts, broken the string of her pyjama, and attempted to drag her beneath a culvert. The Allahabad High Court had directed that the accused be tried under lesser charges, specifically Section 354-B of the Indian Penal Code (assault or use of criminal force with intent to disrobe) read with Sections 9/10 of the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act, 2012 (aggravated sexual assault). This decision diverged from the original trial court's application of Section 376 of the IPC along with Section 18 of the POCSO Act (attempt to commit an offence), which considered the actions to be an attempt to rape or an attempt to commit penetrative sexual assault.
The Allahabad High Court's decision hinged on a distinction between "preparation" and "attempt," arguing that the alleged actions did not sufficiently establish an attempt to rape. The Supreme Court, however, disagreed with this interpretation.
Solicitor General of India, Tushar Mehta, appeared before the Supreme Court and denounced the Allahabad High Court's ruling, describing it as "shocking."
The Supreme Court has issued notices to the Union of India, the State of Uttar Pradesh, and the parties involved in the case before the Allahabad High Court. It is noted that a prior Article 32 writ petition challenging the Allahabad High Court's order was dismissed due to the petitioner's lack of standing to bring the case.