Supreme Court of India
NEW DELHI: The Supreme Court on Monday continued its stay on the Allahabad high court’s controversial observation that acts such as grabbing a woman’s breast, breaking her pyjama string and dragging her under a culvert were insufficient to attract charges of rape or attempt to rape under the IPC.A bench headed by Chief Justice Surya Kant directed that the accused in the case will stand trial under the charges of rape and attempt to rape under the IPC and the POCSO Act, rather than lesser offences, news agency PTI reported. The bench said it would not comment on the merits of the ongoing trial, and the accused would remain free to challenge the charges through due process.Calling attention to a pattern of “unfortunate observations” made by various High Courts while dealing with sexual assault matters, the Supreme Court said it was inclined to frame comprehensive guidelines on the degree of sensitivity required in judicial language and reasoning.“Sometimes these observations go unnoticed, and sometimes victims and their families are forced into compromise because of them,” the bench noted.The case originated as a suo motu matter, after the court earlier stayed the high court’s remarks that the acts amounted only to aggravated sexual assault, not attempt to rape.The SC also acknowledged a separate appeal challenging the high court ruling, tagging it with the suo motu proceedings.The court asked amicus curiae and senior advocate Shobha Gupta to submit examples of similar remarks made by courts across the country, to aid the formulation of guidelines.
