Supreme Court reprimands Patna HC over grabbing breasts not attempt to rape ruling
During the hearing, the Supreme Court approved a report prepared by the National Judicial Academy's Expert Committee, which lays down guidelines for judges to use sensitive and appropriate language in cases involving sexual offences.
PTC News Desk: The Supreme Court on Tuesday pulled up the Patna High Court over its ruling that attempting to remove a woman’s salwar and pressing her chest did not amount to an attempt to rape. The top court also directed the National Judicial Academy Committee's report on judicial sensitivity in sexual offence cases be uploaded on the websites of the Supreme Court and all high courts.
The matter was raised before a bench comprising Chief Justice of India Surya Kant, Justice Joymalya Bagchi and Justice V. Mohan during the hearing of the apex court’s suo motu case examining judicial approaches in sexual offence cases.
The CJI also expressed concern over the “lack of thorough research" before such judgments are delivered.
The issue came up during the Supreme Court's hearing of a suo motu case related to an Allahabad High Court judgment. In that judgment, the High Court had said that grabbing a minor girl's breasts, breaking the string of her pyjama and trying to drag her under a culvert did not amount to an attempt to rape.
During the hearing, the Supreme Court approved a report prepared by the National Judicial Academy's Expert Committee, which lays down guidelines for judges to use sensitive and appropriate language in cases involving sexual offences.
The apex court directed all courts across the country to strictly follow the words and expressions recommended in the handbook.
The Supreme Court also ordered state governments to instruct all police stations to use the handbook while registering FIRs and filing charge sheets. The court said it would upload a detailed judgment explaining its decision.