Jharkhand High Court Rules Entering Woman's House, Lifting Clothes Not Rape Attempt

The Jharkhand High Court has held that entering a woman's house at night and lifting her clothes does not, by itself, amount to rape or an attempt to commit rape under the Indian Penal Code. The ruling came in a 26-year-old case, with the court modifying the charge to outraging the modesty of a woman and use of criminal force.

Justice Pradeep Kumar Srivastava observed that a specific overt act sufficiently proximate to the commission of rape is necessary to constitute an attempt to commit rape. An overt act refers to a real, physical step taken to advance a plan to commit a crime.

Examining the victim's testimony, the court found no specific overt act on the part of the accused that could be construed as a step towards committing rape. The court, however, acknowledged that the accused's conduct was obscene and objectionable and was likely to outrage the woman's modesty.

The case dates back to 1999. According to the FIR registered on December 27, 1999, the victim alleged that the appellant had entered her house the previous night and tried to lift her clothes to rape her. The police investigation found the appellant guilty of attempt to commit rape, and the trial court subsequently convicted and sentenced him to four years of rigorous imprisonment.

The convict challenged the sentence passed by a Sessions Court on July 25, 2006, which had sentenced him to undergo four years of rigorous imprisonment. While modifying the sentence, the High Court noted that the appellant had already undergone about eight months of custody during the trial, which it deemed sufficient to meet the ends of justice.