Allahabad HC order on rape attempt: SC orders registry to redact complainant's name

New Delhi: The Supreme Court on Wednesday directed the Allahabad High Court's registry to redact the name of the complainant mother in the records in a case of an alleged rape attempt in which the high court made controversial observations on March 17.

On March 26, the apex court stayed the high court order, which said grabbing breasts and pulling the drawstring of a woman's "pyjama" or lowers did not amount to the offence of attempt to rape, and said it reflected total "insensitivity" and "inhuman approach".

The top court had taken a suo motu cognisance of the matter after it was brought to the notice of Chief Justice of India Sanjiv Khanna.

On Wednesday, a separate plea filed by civil society network Just Rights for Children Alliance and the survivor's mother challenging the high court's order came up for hearing before a bench of Justices B R Gavai and Augustine George Masih.

Senior advocate H S Phoolka, appearing for the petitioners, sought the plea to be tagged with the suo motu proceedings, which is scheduled to come up on April 15.

"The high court has mentioned the name of the victim's mother, who is the complainant, and there are number of orders of this court that the name should be redacted," Phoolka said.

The bench said the plea would be heard along with the suo motu proceedings, adding, "In the meantime, we direct the registry of the high court to redact the name of the victim's mother."

On March 26, the top court took a strong exception to the high court's observations and called it a "very serious matter".

"In normal circumstances, we are slow in granting stay at this stage. But since the observations appearing in paragraphs 21, 24 and 26 are totally unknown to the cannons of law and depict total insensitive and inhuman approach, we are inclined to stay the said observations," it had said.

The top court added, "Until further orders, there shall be stay to the observations made by the judge in paragraphs 21, 24 and 26 of the order dated March 17, 2025."

The apex court had also issued notices to the Centre, Uttar Pradesh government and the parties before the high court in the matter seeking their responses in the suo motu proceeding.

The stay of the high court's observations meant the same cannot be used in any judicial proceeding for seeking reliefs by the present set of accused or others.

The high court's order held that the attempt to rape offence was not made out against the accused and they were liable to be summoned for the lesser offence of assault or use of criminal force to woman with intent to disrobe her.

HC judge Justice Ram Manohar Narayan Mishra said, "On facts of the case a prima facie charge attempt to rape is not made out against the accused Pawan and Akash and instead they are liable to be summoned for a minor charge of Section 354(b) IPC, i.e., assault or abuse a woman with intent to disrobing or compelling her to be naked...."

The high court's order had come on a petition by the accused challenging the order of a special judge in Kasganj through which they were summoned for the alleged offence under Section 376 (rape) of IPC among other sections.

It came on record that an application was moved before the court of special judge, POCSO Act, alleging that on November 10, 2021, the complainant was returning from her relative's home along with her 14-year-old daughter.

It was alleged that Pawan, Akash and Ashok, who hailed from the same village, met her on the way and offered a lift to her daughter.

They allegedly stopped their motorbike on the way to her village and grabbed her breasts.

Akash was accused of dragging her and trying to take her beneath the culvert while pulling the drawstrings of her lowers.

The high court said the alleged actions of the accused men was "not sufficient to draw an inference that the accused persons had determined to commit rape" on the survivor as "apart from these facts no other act was attributed to them to further their alleged desire to commit rape on the victim."