The Supreme Court of India on Tuesday ruled that groping a woman and untying her pyjama string amounts to an “attempt to rape”, firmly rejecting interpretation of the Allahabad High Court that had termed the act as mere “preparation to commit rape”.
The Supreme Court of India on Tuesday ruled that groping a woman and untying her pyjama string amounts to an “attempt to rape”, firmly rejecting the controversial interpretation of the Allahabad High Court that had termed the act as mere “preparation to commit rape”. The top court set aside the March 17, 2025 judgment of the high court, which had downgraded the offence to outraging the modesty of a woman - a charge that carries lighter punishment. The ruling had triggered widespread outrage, prompting the Supreme Court to take suo motu cognisance after receiving a letter from NGO ‘We the Women’ through its founder president and senior advocate Shobha Gupta.
A bench led by Chief Justice Surya Kant, along with Justices Joymalya Bagchi and N V Anjaria, reinstated the stringent charge of attempt to rape against the accused under the POCSO Act, sending a clear message on the seriousness of sexual offences involving minors.
Responding to submissions by Gupta and senior advocate H S Phoolka urging greater judicial sensitivity in cases involving sexual crimes, the bench observed, "No judge or judgment of any court can be expected to do complete justice when it is inconsiderate towards the factual realities of a litigant and the vulnerabilities which they may be facing in approaching a court of law."
Related Articles
Writing the judgment, CJI Kant delivered a sharp reminder about the judiciary’s role beyond mere technical interpretation of the law. He stated that the efforts of judges "must not only be grounded in the sound application of constitutional and legal principles but also foster an environment of compassion and empathy. The absence of eit-her of these cornerstones wo-uld prevent judicial institutions from properly performing their critical duties."
The bench further emphasised the foundational values that must guide the justice system. "Our decisions as participants in the legal process, from laying down the procedure that shall have to be faced by common citizens to the final judgment passed in any given case, must reflect the ethos of compassion, humanity and understanding, which are essential for creating a fair and effective justice system."
While noting that principles to sensitise judges had already been laid down in earlier rulings, the Supreme Court refrained from framing fresh guidelines without expert input. Instead, it requested National Judicial Academy director Justice Aniruddha Bose to constitute a committee of experts to prepare a “comprehensive report” on ‘Developing Guidelines to Inculcate Sensitivity and Compassion into Judges and Judicial Processes in the Context of Sexual Offences and other Vulnerable Cases’.
The CJI-led bench said, "The guidelines, we expect, will not be loaded with heavy, complicated expressions borne from foreign languages and jurisdictions," and remarked that then CJI D Y Chandrachud's ‘Handbook on Co-mbating gender Stereotypes’ was too "Harvard-oriented".
