A recent Patna High Court order has sparked controversy after it held that removing a woman’s top and touching her breasts does not, by itself, amount to an “attempt to rape” under the Indian Penal Code.
The case relates to a 2008 incident in Bihar’s Banka district, where a young woman went to a photo studio with her father for a photograph. The studio owner allegedly sent the father outside on the pretext of showing the photo on a computer and then tried to misbehave with the woman.
According to the case record, the accused removed the woman’s top and sexually assaulted her by groping her. The woman raised an alarm, and her father broke open the door and entered, preventing further harm.
A district court had sentenced the studio owner to three years in prison. Hearing the appeal, Justice Purnendu Singh said the prosecution had not produced clear evidence of an overt act or attempt at sexual intercourse that would prove an intention to commit rape beyond doubt.
The court held that the act was punishable under IPC Section 354, but not as an attempt to rape. The ruling has drawn strong reactions from legal experts and women’s organisations across the country.
