A bench of Justice Ramana and Rastogi in the case titled CHAITU LAL vs STATE OF UTTARAKHAND on 20.11.2019 has observed that undressing is not a necessity to establish an attempt to rape.
While dealing with a conviction for attempted rape, the Supreme Court observed and held as under:
"The counsel of the accusedappellant has pleaded that the actions of the accusedappellant do not constitute the offence under Section 511 read with Section 376, as the accusedappellant had not committed any overt act such as; any attempt to undress himself in order to commit the alleged act....
The attempt to commit an offence begins when the accused commences to do an act with the necessary intention. In the present case, the accusedappellant pounced upon the complainantvictim, sat upon her and lifted her petticoat while the complainantvictim protested against his advancements and wept....
Herein, although the complainantvictim and her daughter were pleading with the accused to let the complainantvictim go, the accusedappellant did not show any reluctance that he was going to stop from committing the aforesaid offence. Therefore, had there been no intervention, the accusedappellant would have succeeded in executing his criminal design. The conduct of the accused in the present case is indicative of his definite intention to commit the said offence......
Considering the facts and circumstances, the guilt of the accusedappellant has been established beyond doubt. In our opinion, therefore, the courts below have rightly convicted and sentenced the accused. In view of the aforesaid observations, the appeal lacks merit and is accordingly dismissed".
Read the Order here:
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