SC dismisses Karnataka govt's plea for including necrophilia under rape provision

New Delhi: The Supreme Court on Tuesday dismissed a plea by Karnataka government against the Karnataka High Court's May 30, 2023 judgment refusing to consider necrophilia as rape, saying it is for Parliament to make changes in law and the State can make representation in this regard.

A bench of Justices Sudhanshu Dhulia and Ahsanuddin Amanullah rejected state government's contention that Section 375 of the IPC should be read so as to incorporate rape with a corpse as an offence since a dead person can't give a consent. The counsel also said the right to dignity and fair treatment should be extended to the dead bodies too as per the SC's judgment in Pt Parmanand Katara Vs Union of India.

The accused in the case, a resident of Golagenahalli of Sira taluk in Tumakuru district, had first murdered the victim and then had sexual intercourse with the body. The high court had confirmed his conviction for murder but acquitted him of rape charges.

The high court's division bench noted it was a specific case of prosecution that, accused, first murdered the victim and then had sexual intercourse with dead body, which cannot be held as sexual offences or unnatural offence as defined under Sections 375 and 377 of the Indian Penal Code.

"Utmost it can be considered as sadism, necrophilia and there is no offence made out to punish under Section 376 of the Indian Penal Code," the bench added.

The bench noted that in India, no specific legislation has been enacted, including under the provisions of IPC, to uphold the dignity and protect the rights of the dead body of a woman.

“It is high time the central government, in order to maintain right to dignity of the dead person/woman, amends the provisions of Section 377 of IPC to include dead body of any man, woman or animal or to introduce a separate provision to term an offence against a dead woman as necrophilia or sadism like in the United Kingdom, Canada, New Zealand and South Africa to ensure dignity of the dead person including the woman,” the HC bench said.