Supreme Court objects to Patna HC judgement on removing salwar, pressing chest not amounting to rape

The Supreme Court on Wednesday objected to a recent Patna high court judgment which held that removing a woman’s salwar and pressing her chest does not amount to attempt to rape as it took suo motu cognisance of the verdict and issued notice to the accused who was acquitted of all charges.The Supreme Court constituted a suo motu case on the Patna High Court order. (ANI/Representational)A bench headed by Chief Justice of India (CJI) Surya Kant said, “There are some offending portions in this judgment. We can only set it aside after hearing the accused,” as the court directed the state government to help serve notice to the accused, Himanshu Pathak, through the local police.The bench, also comprising justices Joymalya Bagchi and V Mohana, took up the matter after the judgment of the high court, uploaded on July 9, was brought to the court’s attention by senior advocate Shobha Gupta.Also Read I Making accountability key to the arrest process‘Outraging a woman’s modesty'The court constituted a suo motu case on the HC order where the judge had held, “I find that the appellant used criminal force against the victim by confining her inside the studio, closing the door, attempting to remove her salwar, and physically molesting her by pressing her chest. These acts clearly establish the use of criminal force upon a woman with the intention, or at least the knowledge, that such acts were likely to outrage her modesty.”Since the accused was charged under the offence of attempt to rape under Sections 376 along with 511 of the Indian Penal Code, the high court said that the offence at best in this case was outraging the modesty (Section 354 of IPC) and went on to acquit the accused observing that charges under Sections 375, 376, 511 were not made out.The incident took place in 2008 when the victim had gone to a photo studio with her father to click a photograph. The accused took the victim inside the studio, bolted the door from inside and attempted to rape her by removing her salwar and pressing her chest. When she raised an alarm, her father forced the accused to open the door following which he escaped. He was convicted by the trial court in 2013 against which he appealed in the HC.