Supreme Court Slams “Inhuman” High Court Verdict, Stays “Grabbing Breasts Not Rape Attempt” Order
In a scathing rebuke, the Supreme Court on Wednesday stayed an Allahabad High Court judgment that had controversially ruled that grabbing a minor’s breasts and attempting to remove her clothes did not amount to an attempt to rape. Calling the verdict “inhuman” and reflecting a “total lack of sensitivity,” a bench of Justices BR Gavai and Augustine George Masih halted the controversial observations while seeking responses from the Centre and Uttar Pradesh government.
The top court took suo motu cognizance after the judgment sparked nationwide outrage, with women’s rights activists and legal experts condemning the reasoning as regressive and dangerous. Justice Gavai remarked, “It is a serious matter. Total insensitiveness on part of the judge. This was at the stage of issuing summons! We are sorry to use such harsh words.”
The case pertains to a 2025 Allahabad High Court ruling by Justice Ram Manohar Narayan Mishra, who had overturned a lower court’s decision to summon two accused under rape charges (IPC Section 376) and POCSO Act provisions. The High Court had bizarrely concluded that since the accused only grabbed the victim’s breasts and tried to pull down her pyjama, it did not indicate a “determined intention to commit rape.”
The survivor’s mother, who has also challenged the verdict, recounted how the accused lured her daughter with a motorcycle ride before assaulting her. Witnesses intervened, but the accused allegedly threatened them with a pistol before fleeing.
Legal experts, including senior advocate Indira Jaising, had demanded Supreme Court intervention, calling the judgment a setback for gender justice. Advocate Rachna Tyagi, representing the survivor’s family, welcomed the stay, saying, “The Supreme Court has recognized the gravity of this injustice.”
The case will now proceed as the apex court examines whether such interpretations dilute the legal protections against sexual violence.
