Demands for SC to act against Allahabad HC judge who sparked public outrage in ‘attempt to rape’ case

Outrage over Allahabad High Court judge's ruling on attempted rape sparks calls for Supreme Court intervention.

An Allahabad High Court judge’s recent observation that a man allegedly grabbing an 11-year-old girl’s breasts, breaking her pyjama strings, and dragging her under a culvert is not enough to charge him with ‘attempt to rape’ has sparked widespread outrage and calls for the Supreme Court’s intervention. People from all sections of society and across the political spectrum have slammed the ruling by Justice Ram Manohar Narayan Mishra.

Senior advocate Indira Jaising called for the Supreme Court to take suo motu cognisance in the matter. “Judges have been pulled up for much less by SC,” she said.

National Human Rights Commission member Priyank Kanoongo said the ruling was unjust and urged the State government to immediately appeal it. “The victim is only 11 years old. Under Sections 29 and 30 of the POCSO Act, it is the responsibility of the defense to prove the accused innocent, therefore the burden of proving guilt does not lie with the prosecution,” he said.

Mr. Kanoongo, who earlier headed the National Commission for Protection of Child Rights said it was “peculiar that the forcible removal of clothes was not considered an attempt to rape. Expecting such a young girl to understand the definition of rape and explain it to the court is nothing short of an injustice, he added. “Such decisions are used as precedents in a wrong manner by criminals. Therefore, the State government should immediately appeal in this case,” he said.

BJP MP Rekha Sharma, a former chairperson of the National Commission for Women, asked, “If judges are not sensitised, how will women and children get justice?”

Congress leader Supriya Shrinate noted that the trial court had termed it a case of attempted rape under the POCSO Act, but the Allahabad High Court downgraded the charges. “Is this justice for that 11-year-old girl? For information, let me tell you that India is one of the most unsafe countries in the world for women,” she said.

Communist Party of India general secretary D. Raja said the judge’s remarks were appalling and shameful. “Grabbing breasts or breaking a pyjama string isn’t ‘attempt to rape’? This trivialises sexual violence & shows the tight grip of patriarchy on our institutions. The law must prioritise survivors’ trauma, not minimise it,” he said in a post on X. He added that people see the judiciary as the last hope and such conduct puts a question mark before the credibility of the judiciary.