Senior Advocate Shobha Gupta today flagged before the Supreme Court a Patna High Court order which held that allegations of attempting to remove a woman's salwar and physically molesting by pressing her chest do not constitute 'attempt to rape'.

A bench of CJI Surya Kant, Justice Joymalya Bagchi and Justice V Mohana were informed about the order during the hearing of the suo motu case taken up over the Allahabad High Court verdict that grabbing the breasts of a minor girl, breaking the string of her pyjama and trying to drag her beneath a culvert would not come under the offence of 'attempt to rape'.

The Allahabad High Court had observed in the said case that the acts would prima facie constitute the offence of 'aggravated sexual assault' under the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act, 2012, which carries a lesser punishment.

After the Allahabad High Court's order caused widespread outrage, the Supreme Court had taken suo motu cognizance of it, and later set it aside. The Supreme Court had also urged the National Judicial Academy to frame fresh guidelines to guide judges to deal with sexual offences in a sensitive manner.

Today, Gupta, alongside Senior Advocate HS Phoolka, submitted that despite the Supreme Court taking suo motu cognizance of the Allahabad High Court order and setting it aside in February, the Patna High Court order, on similar facts and making similar observations, was passed recently.

"Unfortunately, similar order in similar facts was recently passed by Patna HC. Despite this court taking suo motu case and setting aside the Allahabad HC order. It was reported in a social media website. Troubling part is - this is happening every now and then," Gupta submited.

In response, the CJI lamented a lack of thorough research prior to delivering judgments and conveyed that the bench would pass a detailed order dealing with the Patna High Court decision.

In addition, the Court approved a report placed before it by the National Judicial Academy's Expert Committee containing guidelines on judicial sensitivity in sexual offense cases. It directed all Courts in the country to strictly follow the expressions used in the handbook/guidelines approved today.

The approved guidelines/handbook shall be uploaded on the websites of the Supreme Court, all High Courts as well as District Courts (where such websites exist), in terms of the Court's order. They shall also be circulated to the National and all State Judicial Academies, as well as National Law Universities and Law Departments of other Universities.

"The Director of Prosecution and Director General of Police of all the States are also directed to issue necessary instructions to all police stations to follow the contents of the handbook while recording an FIR or filing a chargesheet", the order stated.

"The Committee has done a commendable job", remarked the CJI. It was later added that the guidelines approved today shall be made part of the judicial order.

In February this year, the Court had directed the National Judicial Academy to frame comprehensive draft guidelines to inculcate sensitivity and compassion in judicial handling of sexual offence cases, stressing that such norms must reflect India's social fabric and not be borrowed from foreign jurisdictions.

Hence, the Court requested Justice Aniruddha Bose, former judge of the Supreme Court and Director of the National Judicial Academy Bhopal, to constitute a Committee of Experts to deliberate upon "Developing Guidelines to Inculcate Sensitivity and Compassion into Judges and Judicial Processes in the Context of Sexual Offences and other Vulnerable Cases".

"There are various examples of offensive words and expressions, the use of which would ordinarily constitute an offence under our penal laws, but they are openly spoken by members of our society in local dialects, ostensibly because of the absence of a clear understanding of the offensive nature of such saying. It shall be highly appreciated if the Committee, as a part of its report, is able to identify and compile such words/expressions, from different languages, so that they do not go unnoticed, and the complainants/victims are empowered to give a better and fuller narrative of the trauma undergone by them", the order stated.

Case Title: IN RE: ORDER DATED 17.03.2025 PASSED BY THE HIGH COURT OF JUDICATURE AT ALLAHABAD IN CRIMINAL REVISION NO. 1449/2024 AND ANCILLARY ISSUES | SMW(Crl) No. 1/2025