2005 Rape Conviction Order: The Chhattisgarh High Court recently decided that ejaculation without penetration counts as an attempt to commit rape, not the act itself. This came up while the court was reviewing a conviction from almost twenty years ago.
Justice Narendra Kumar Vyas gave the ruling on February 16, while hearing an appeal about a 2005 judgment. Back then, the trial court sentenced the accused to seven years in prison for rape.
Chhattisgarh High Court: Ejaculation Without Penetration Is Attempt to Rape, Not Rape
This case goes back to 2004. At the time, the trial court said the accused had forced sex on the victim. But during cross-examination, the victim explained that while the accused placed his private part above her vagina, he didn’t actually penetrate, according to Bar and Bench.
Looking at the law, the court pointed out that penetration, not ejaculation, is what defines rape. If there’s ejaculation but no penetration, it’s considered an attempt, not the actual offence.
The court observed:
“The sine qua non of the offence of rape is penetration, and not ejaculation. Ejaculation without penetration constitutes an attempt to commit rape and not actual rape.”
The judge also mentioned that even a little penetration is enough for a rape charge under Section 376 of the Indian Penal Code. But there has to be solid evidence that some part of the male organ went inside the labia.
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Here, the medical report showed the hymen was still intact. The doctor did notice some redness and a white discharge, but said there was no clear proof of rape, only that partial penetration might have happened.
The court also spotted some inconsistencies in the victim’s story. At first, she suggested there was penetration. Later, she clarified that the accused only put his private part above her vagina, without actually penetrating.
Since there wasn’t enough proof for actual rape, the high court changed the conviction to an attempt to commit rape and cut the sentence to three and a half years.
The court summed it up by saying that the accused’s actions went further than just preparing for the crime but stopped short of actual penetration. So, he’s guilty of attempting to commit rape under Section 511 read with Section 375 IPC, as it stood at the time.
