Jharkhand HC: Lifting woman's clothes without overt act not attempt to rape

The Jharkhand High Court modified a conviction in a 2006 criminal case, holding that lifting a woman's clothes and holding her without a specific overt act does not constitute an attempt to commit rape. A Single Judge Bench of Justice Pradeep Kumar Srivastava examined the prosecutrix's evidence and found no specific act sufficiently proximate to the commission of rape.

The court altered the conviction under Section 376/511 IPC (attempt to rape) to Section 354 IPC (outraging a woman's modesty), while upholding the conviction under Section 452 IPC (house-trespass). The original judgment, dated July 2006, had sentenced the appellant to four years rigorous imprisonment.

According to the case, the accused had allegedly entered the woman's house at midnight, lifted her clothes, and attempted sexual intercourse. However, the court found the prosecutrix's immediate disclosures indicated an act of assault rather than a specific attempt to commit rape.