The Allahabad High Court has remarked that “no doubt a woman cannot conduct the offence of rape but if she facilitates or encourage the act then she can be tried or prosecuted for the offence of gang rape under section 376D of Indian Penal Code (IPC) in view of the revised provisions”.
Expounding on the provisions of sections 375 (rape) and 376 (punishment for rape) of the IPC relating to the charge of rape, as revised in 2013, Justice Shekhar Kumar Yadav rejected the argument that a woman cannot be punished for alleged gang rape.
With these observations, the court dismissed an application filed under section 482 (inherent powers of high court) of the criminal procedure code (CrPC) by one Sunita Pandey, who challenged a summoning order issued by the additional district and sessions judge, Siddharth Nagar, to face trial under sections 376D (gang rape) and 212 (harbouring offender) of the IPC in connection with the alleged rape of a 15-year-old girl.
“A woman cannot commit rape, but if she facilitates rape with a group of individuals, she may be tried or prosecuted for gang rape under the modified laws,” the court stated in rejecting the woman applicant’s appeal.
The court stated that, while it is clear from the clear language of section 375 of the IPC that a woman cannot commit rape because the section clearly indicates that the act of rape can only be committed by a male and not a woman, the same is not true of section 376D (gang rape) of the IPC.
Also, Read-
