Penetration in-between girl's thighs would amount to rape as defined under Section 375 of IPC: Kerala High Court

Hearing an appeal in a POCSO case, the Kerala High Court observed that "Section 375 takes in, sexual assaults beyond penile penetration into vagina, urethra, anus, and mouth; the known orifices in the human body to which such penetration was imaginably possible".

New Delhi: In a significant observation, the Kerala High Court has held that the act of an accused rubbing his penis on the thighs of a victim will constitute rape under the Indian Penal Code. It further observed that if such an act, though non-penetrative, provides sexual gratification to the accused, it will be termed as rape. A Division Bench comprising Justice K Vinod Chandran and Justice Ziyad Rahman A A held that the definition of rape contained in section 375 of the IPC would take in sexual assaults including sexual acts committed between thighs of the victim.  Hearing an appeal in a POCSO case, the Kerala HC observed that "Section 375 takes in, sexual assaults beyond penile penetration into vagina, urethra, anus, and mouth; the known orifices in the human body to which such penetration was imaginably possible".