Woman cannot be prosecuted on rape charges: SC

New Delhi, July 13: In a siginificant ruling, the Supreme Court has held that a woman cannot be prosecuted on charges of rape.

In this case, appellant Priya Patel was charged with the offence of gangrape along with her husband Bhanupratap Patel.

When Bhanupratap was commiting the crime, Priya went to the room and the victim asked her for help. However, she slapped the victim and bolted the room from outside.

Both, husband and wife were charged with the offence of gangrape under section 376 (2) (g) of the IPC.

Priya challenged the Madhya Pradesh High Court order dismissing her appeal/revision holding that the charges against her were proper.

In her appeal to the apex court, she pleaded that the charge of a woman commiting a rape was conceptually inconceivable.

A bench comprising Justice Arijit Pasayat and Justice S H Kapadia read out section 375 of the IPC saying it talks only about a man commiting rape.

The court observed, ''A woman cannot be said to have an intention to commit rape. Therefore, the counsel for the appeallant is right in her submission that she cannot be prosecuted for alleged commission of the offence punishable under section 376 (2) (g) of the IPC.''

UNI