The Supreme Court on Wednesday took suo motu cognizance of a July 9 judgment of the Patna High Court which held that allegations of attempting to remove a woman’s salwar and pressing her chest did not constitute an offence of attempt to rape in the absence of evidence of penetration or an overt act unequivocally establishing an intention to commit rape.

A Bench comprising Chief Justice of India Surya Kant, Justice Joymalya Bagchi and Justice V. Mohana took up the issue while hearing the ongoing suo motu proceedings concerning judicial sensitivity in cases involving sexual offences.

The Patna High Court had dealt with an appeal arising from a 2008 incident in Bihar, in which the prosecution alleged that a photography studio owner confined a woman inside the studio, attempted to remove her salwar and pressed her chest. The woman raised an alarm, following which her father came to her assistance and the accused fled.

The trial court had convicted the accused for attempt to rape under Sections 376 read with 511 of the IPC, as well as wrongful confinement under Section 342 IPC. The Patna High Court, however, set aside the conviction for attempt to rape, finding that the evidence did not establish the ingredients of that offence. It held that the acts alleged could constitute the offence of outraging the modesty of a woman under Section 354 IPC.

The Supreme Court’s attention was drawn to the Patna High Court judgment during the proceedings concerning an earlier Allahabad High Court judgment involving allegations of grabbing the breasts of a minor girl, pulling her pyjama string and attempting to drag her beneath a culvert. The Supreme Court had earlier set aside that judgment and initiated proceedings concerning judicial sensitivity while dealing with sexual offences.

During Wednesday’s hearing, the Supreme Court noted that certain observations in the Patna High Court judgment required examination.