Chhattisgarh High Court reduces 2004 rape conviction to attempted rape over inconsistent testimony

Chhattisgarh High Court reclassifies 2004 rape conviction to attempted rape due to inconsistent victim testimony and lack of conclusive evidence.

(Trigger warning: This story contains details that might be considered distressing.)

In a recent order, the Chhattisgarh High Court has ruled that ejaculation without penetration constitutes an attempt to commit rape, and not actual rape.

Setting aside the conviction of a Dhamtari district resident for rape in a 2004 case, the court convicted him for attempt to commit rape. In its February 16 order, the court stated that it was clear that the commission of actual rape had not been established, as the victim’s own statement created doubt.

“As in one stage of her evidence, she has stated that the appellant penetrated his private part into her vagina, and in her further evidence, she has stated that the appellant had kept his private part above her vagina for about 10 minutes. She again affirmed that the appellant kept his private part above her private part but did not penetrate it. This statement is corroborated by the evidence of the doctor (PW-11), who stated that the hymen was not ruptured and that no definite opinion could be given with respect to the commission of the offence of rape, and also stated that there was partial penetration,” the court observed.

“In the cross-examination, she reiterated that there was a possibility of partial penetration. However, this evidence is sufficient to prove that an attempt to commit rape was made out, but not rape,” the judgment by Justice Narendra Kumar Vyas noted.

The prosecution’s case was that on May 21, 2004, the victim was alone at her house when the accused came and asked whether she would go to a shop. When she asked him for money, the appellant caught hold of her hand and forcibly dragged her to his house, where he forced himself on her.