Union minister for women and child development (WCD) Annpurna Devi on Friday urged the Supreme Court to intervene in the Allahabad high court judge’s controversial verdict on what constitutes as an attempt to rape, saying the ruling “has no place in a civilised society”.
“I don’t support this decision. The Supreme Court should also take note of this decision because it will have adverse impact on a civil society. It has no place in a civilised society,” Devi said on the verdict by high court judge Ram Manohar Narayan Mishra.
A controversy erupted on Thursday over Justice Mishra’s ruling that a man grabbing an 11-year-old girl’s breasts, breaking her pyjama strings and dragging her under a culvert are not enough to charge him with attempt to rape.
An official of the women and child development ministry said the ministry will pursue the matter legally. “Since the matter is a court matter, the ministry will see what can be done through legal channels,” the official said on condition of anonymity.
The minister’s comments came a day after senior advocate Shobha Gupta wrote to Chief Justice of India Sanjiv Khanna, seeking his intervention in the matter as she said that the ruling showed justice Mishra’s interpretation of the law was “grossly erroneous, his approach on the subject is insensitive, irresponsible and sends very bad message for the society at large”.
“I would thus urge your goodself to kindly look into the matter and take suo moto cognizance of the matter both on administrative and judicial side,” the letter said.
On Friday, Shiv Sena(UBT) MP Priyanka Chaturvedi wrote to CJI Khanna and Union law minister Arjun Ram Meghwal seeking justice Mishra’s dismissal.
In the letter, shared on X, Chaturvedi said: “I firmly believe this is a flawed judgement delivered by a depraved judge. It is alarming that when 51 crimes against women happen every hour in the country, this is the level of commitment to women’s safety demonstrated by our judicial system.”
She further requested that Justice Mishra be “disqualified” for delivering such a “misguided” verdict and that the case be moved to the Supreme Court.
“I request that Justice Ram Manohar Narayan Mishrabe disqualified for delivering such a misguided verdict. Further, the case should be moved to the Supreme Court to ensure justice for the girl and her family. Finally, periodic sensitisation training must be conducted for judges at all levels to prevent such insensitive judgements in the future. I urge you to take the necessary action for the same,” the MP further said in the letter.
The outrage stems from the high court’s order on a revision plea filed by two of the three accused, challenging the order of a Kasganj court summoning them under section 376 (rape) of the Indian Penal Code (IPC) among others.
The two men –– Pawan and Akash –– along with Ashok were accused of sexually assaulting their 14-year-old neighbour on November 10, 2021.The accused met the girl while she was on her way home and offered to give her a lift. The accused then stopped their motorcycle and started grabbing her breasts. Akash dragged her and tried to take her beneath the culvert and broke the string of her pyjama.
The court, in its March 17 order, however said the allegations levelled against the accused, and the facts of the case hardly constitute an offence of attempt to rape in the case. To bring out a charge of attempt to rape the prosecution must establish that it had gone beyond the stage of preparation, it said.“The difference between preparation and actual attempt to commit an offence consists chiefly in the greater degree of determination,” the court added.
The high court then directed the accused be tried under section 354(B) (assault or use of criminal force with intent to disrobe) of the IPC and section 9 of the Pocso Act.