Tanvi Pilane
Published on: March 16, 2022 at 12:17 IST
A Division Bench of Chief Justices Sanjib Banerjee and W. Diengdoh of the Meghalaya High Court recently held that for the purpose of Section 375(b), Indian Penal Code (IPC), the rubbing male organ on the vagina or urethra of prosecutrix despite she wearing her underpants, would still amount to penetration.
A complaint was lodged on September 30, 2006 for an incident that occurred on September 23, 2006 in which the minor victim was medically examined on October 1, 2006.
The result of the examination revealed her hymen was ruptured and her vagina was tender and red.
The Medical Examiner was of the opinion that the girl had been raped and was suffering from Mental Trauma.
The Accused (the Appellant in the instant case) was convicted by the Trial Court.
The Appellant had submitted that the Victim’s Oral Evidence was relied upon at the trial and no rape had been committed.
During the Cross-Examination, the victim had stated,
“I did not feel pain after the accused had raped me. It is a fact that the accused person did not penetrate his male organ inside my vagina but he just rubbed from the top of my underwear.”
The High Court held that it was not implied that there was no penetrative sex even if the victim’s evidence in her Cross-Examination is taken at face value.
It was held that an act would amount to rape if a person manipulates any part of the body of a woman so as to cause penetration into, inter alia, the vagina or urethra by the virtue of Section 375(c) of the Penal Code.
The Court also observed that even though the victim claimed that she did not feel any pain at the time, she complained of pain when she was Medically Examined on October 1, 2006 and the medical report confirmed the same.
Just because the victim may have said that she did not endure any pain at the relevant time may not absolve the appellant herein of his guilt, the Court held.
The Court thus affirmed the conviction of Rape.
Also read:
An overview of Rape Laws in India
Understanding Rape in light of Landmark Judgements
Landmark Judgements that shaped the Rape Laws in India