Touching a woman's chest does not amount to an attempt to rape: High Court

Patna High Court acquits accused who had been convicted by a lower court in a rape case

Patna (Bihar) – The Patna High Court has clarified that putting a hand inside a woman’s pyjamas or touching her chest may constitute the criminal offence of outraging her modesty, but these acts alone do not establish the offence of an “attempt to rape”. Interestingly, the High Court acquitted the accused in the entire case on technical grounds, observing that the lower court had convicted him under incorrect legal provisions.

What is the case ?

In 2008, in the Amarpur area of Bihar, the victim had gone to a photo studio with her father. After taking her photograph, the studio owner asked her father to wait outside on the pretext of showing him the photographs on a computer. He then locked the studio door from inside and attempted to remove the young woman’s salwar, squeezed her chest and attempted to sexually assault her. After the victim raised an alarm, her father rushed to the door, following which the accused fled the scene. The lower court had convicted the accused of attempted rape and sentenced him. The accused challenged this conviction before the High Court.

The High Court observed that although it was established that the accused had wrongfully confined the young woman and behaved inappropriately with her, there was no clear evidence that he had attempted to establish sexual intercourse or had made a direct attempt to do so. Therefore, the offence of attempted rape was not made out in this case.

No punishment for outraging modesty due to a technical reason

Although the High Court held that the accused’s conduct amounted to outraging the modesty of a woman, he could not be punished because no charge had been framed against him under Section 354 (outraging modesty) in the lower court. He had been prosecuted only for attempted rape. Since the prosecution failed to prove the charge of attempted rape, the High Court set aside the lower court’s conviction. Owing to the technical framework of the law, the Court ordered that the accused be acquitted of all charges and also directed that the fine paid by him be refunded.