NEW DELHI: Women and child development minister Annapurna Devi Friday said she completely disagreed with Allahabad HC’s ruling on what constituted rape or attempt to rape and urged Supreme Court to intervene in the matter.
The HC, in an order earlier this week, ruled that grabbing a minor girl’s breasts or breaking her pyjama strings was not enough to charge an accused with the offence of rape or attempt to rape, describing such acts as “aggravated sexual assault“.
Speaking to reporters outside LS, Devi said, “I am in complete disagreement of this decision and the SC should take a serious note of it. Such a ruling has no place in a civilised society.”
She also cautioned that the court’s observations could send a wrong message. “Somewhere, this will have a negative impact on society and we will discuss this matter further,” she said.
The WCD minister was referring to Allahabad high court ruling in a case involving an 11-year-old girl in Uttar Pradesh’s Kasganj, who was assaulted by two accused in 2021.The accused grabbed her breasts, snapped her pyjama strings and attempted to drag her under a culvert. The assailants fled when a passersby intervened.
