The Supreme Court has directed that the National Judicial Academy (NJA) Committee’s report on judicial sensitivity in cases involving sexual offences be uploaded on the websites of the apex court as well as all high courts across the country.
The report was prepared in the suo motu proceedings initiated after the Allahabad High Court’s March 17, 2025 order, which had observed that pulling a girl’s pyjama string and grabbing her breasts did not amount to an attempt to rape. The Supreme Court had later stayed the order and emphasised the need for greater judicial sensitisation.
During the hearing, senior advocate Shobha Gupta informed the bench that similar observations continued to be made by courts. Referring to a recent Patna High Court judgment dated July 9, she pointed out that the court had held that removing a woman’s salwar and pressing her chest did not constitute an attempt to rape.
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Justice V Mohan asked whether the Supreme Court’s earlier ruling in the Allahabad High Court matter, which called for sensitisation of judges, had been cited before the Patna High Court.
Chief Justice of India Surya Kant, referring to the Patna High Court order, remarked that judges also have a responsibility to conduct proper legal research. “The staff is doing nothing,” the CJI observed.
The Supreme Court directed that all courts should adhere to the terminology and guidance contained in the judicial handbook. It also instructed state governments to issue directions to all police stations to follow the handbook while registering FIRs and filing charge sheets. The bench said a detailed reasoned judgment would also be uploaded.
Patna High Court Ruling
The observations came in the backdrop of a recent Patna High Court judgment that set aside a man’s conviction for attempt to rape, holding that the allegations established the offence of outraging a woman’s modesty rather than attempted rape.
Justice Purnendu Singh ruled that removing a woman’s salwar and pressing her chest, by themselves, were insufficient to attract the offence of attempt to rape, which carries a more severe punishment.
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The case stemmed from a 2008 incident in which a woman alleged that a photography studio owner in Amarpur confined her inside his studio after asking her father to wait outside and attempted to assault her sexually. According to the prosecution, the accused fled after the woman’s father rushed to the room on hearing her cries.
A trial court had convicted the accused for attempt to rape and wrongful confinement. However, while hearing his appeal, the High Court found that there was no medical evidence supporting the allegation of attempted rape. It also noted that the investigating officer had not been examined during the trial and that the prosecution primarily relied on the testimonies of the survivor and her parents.
The High Court held that the prosecution had failed to establish the ingredients of attempted rape, observing that there was no evidence of penetration or any overt act that unequivocally amounted to an attempt to commit rape.
At the same time, the court held that the accused’s actions, including confining the woman inside the studio, attempting to remove her salwar and pressing her chest, clearly constituted the offence of outraging a woman’s modesty under Section 354 of the Indian Penal Code.
