The Supreme Court has stayed an Allahabad High Court order that excluded an attempt to rape charge in a case involving the sexual assault of a minor girl. The HC had ruled that grabbing the breasts of the 11-year-old, breaking her pyjama string, and trying to drag her beneath a culvert did not qualify as attempted rape—only as ‘aggravated sexual assault’ under the POCSO Act, which carries a lighter sentence.
A bench of Justices B.R. Gavai and A.G. Masih took suo motu cognisance of the order after it sparked widespread public outrage. “We are at pains to say that some of the observations made in the impugned judgment… depict a total lack of sensitivity on the part of the author of the judgment,” the bench said, referring specifically to paragraphs 21, 24, and 26 of the HC ruling, according to Live Law.in.
Calling the judgment “shocking,” the SC noted it was not an off-the-cuff verdict—it was delivered after nearly four months of reserve, making its reasoning even more troubling. The court said the observations showed an “inhuman approach” and were “totally unknown to the tenets of law.”
Solicitor General Tushar Mehta echoed the concern, strongly denouncing the HC's findings. The apex court also issued notices to the Union of India, the Uttar Pradesh government, and other parties involved.
The suo motu action was based on a letter from Senior Advocate Shobha Gupta on behalf of the NGO ‘We the Women of India’.
According to the prosecution, the accused—Pawan and Akash—grabbed the girl’s breasts and tried to drag her beneath a culvert. A trial court had framed charges under Section 376 (rape) read with Section 18 (attempt) of the POCSO Act. However, the HC reduced the charges to Section 354-B IPC and Sections 9/10 of the POCSO Act.
Justice R.M.N. Mishra, who authored the HC judgment, argued the accused’s actions didn’t go beyond “preparation,” and therefore didn’t meet the threshold for attempted rape.