Guwahati: A division bench of the Meghalaya High Court has ruled that rubbing male organ on the vagina of a woman even over her underwear would still amount to an offence under Section 375(b) of the IPC and hence a commission of rape.
The order was ruled on March 14 by a bench comprising Chief Justice Sanjib Banerjee and Justice W Diengdoh. The bench rejected an appeal and asserted the judgement of conviction of a rape accused and the resultant sentence by a trial court in 2018.
The principal ground urged in the appeal was that no case of penetration in terms of Section 375 of the Indian Penal Code, 1860 was made out despite the appellant being found guilty of having committed rape and sentenced to 10 years of imprisonment and payment of fine of Rs 25,000 (in default to suffer imprisonment for an additional six months).
The appellant argued that it was not raped as the victim in her cross-examination during the trial said that the accused person did not penetrate his male organ inside her vagina but just rubbed from the top of her underwear.
As per the appellant, there would be no commission of rape as the victim's underpants was not removed and the appellant merely rubbed himself on the victim's crotch.
The victim in her cross-examination during the trial said that she felt no pain and the appellant cited this point in his appeal.
The bench held that even if the victim's evidence in her cross-examination is taken at face value, it would not imply that there was no penetrative sex.
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