The Supreme Court has overturned the Allahabad High Court’s controversial March 2025 ruling that downgraded groping a woman and untying her pyjama string to mere “preparation to commit rape.” The Court revived the original charge of attempt to rape under the POCSO Act, emphasizing judicial sensitivity and empathy in cases of sexual offences.
The case drew nationwide attention after NGO ‘We the Women,’ led by Shobha Gupta, highlighted the High Court’s lenient categorization of the act, prompting SC suo motu intervention. The HC had held the conduct as outraging a woman’s modesty, attracting lighter punishment. The Supreme Court bench of Chief Justice Surya Kant and Justice Joymalya Bagchi and Justice N V Anjaria restored the stringent charge, stressing that courts must recognize the factual realities and vulnerabilities of survivors while delivering justice. Advocates for greater judicial sensitivity, including H S Phoolka, argued for reforms to ensure that judgments in sexual offence cases reflect empathy and fairness.
CJI Kant observed, “No judge or judgment of any court can be expected to do complete justice when it is inconsiderate towards the factual realities of a litigant and the vulnerabilities which they may be facing in approaching a court of law.” The bench further stressed that judicial reasoning must combine constitutional rigor with compassion.
While refraining from issuing open-ended guidelines immediately, the Court directed National Judicial Academy director Justice Aniruddha Bose to form an expert committee to prepare a comprehensive report on “Developing Guidelines to Inculcate Sensitivity and Compassion into Judges and Judicial Processes in the Context of Sexual Offences and other Vulnerable Cases,” warning that the guidance should be practical and locally grounded rather than overly academic or foreign oriented.
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