In the recent hearing of the 33 year old case in the Rajasthan High Court said that taking off a young girl’s underwear and undressing her will not be adding the charge of ‘contempt of rape’ but will be an offense of ‘exploiting a woman’s modesty’.
The decision was given by Justice Anup Kumar Dhand in the hearing of the Suwalal Son of Gopi by Cast Raigar vs State. He cleared that such acts do not sit under the Section 376 and 511 of the Indian Penal Code but under Section 354 of the IPC.
Justice Dhand explained, “Based on the presented facts, no offense under Section 376/511 IPC can be established. The accused cannot be deemed guilty of attempting to commit rape. However, the prosecution has proven the use of assault or illegal force with the intention of outraging the girl’s modesty, making it a clear case under Section 354 IPC, as the actions did not progress beyond preparation.”
The Case:
The incident occurred on March 9, 1991, when the complainant’s six-year-old granddaughter was taken by the accused, Suwalal, from a water booth to a nearby Dharamshala with the intention of committing rape. The girl’s cries for help alerted villagers who rescued her before the crime could escalate.
At the time of the incident, Suwalal was 25 years old. The court noted that in this case, the accused’s actions did not reach the final stage necessary to constitute an attempt to commit rape, thereby ruling it as an offense of outraging modesty under Section 354 IPC.
