SAKSHI Vs. UNION OF INDIA

JUDGEMENT

(1.) This writ petition under Art. 32 of the Constitution has been filed by way of public interest litigation, by Sakshi, which is an organisation to provide legal, medical, residential, psychological or any other help, assistance or charitable support for women, in particular those who are victims of any kind of sexual abuse and/or harassment, violence or any kind of atrocity or violation and is a violence intervention centre. The respondents arrayed in the writ petition are (1) Union of India; (2) Ministry of Law and Justice; and (3) Commissioner of Police, New Delhi. The main reliefs claimed in the writ petition are us under :

(2.) It is set out in the writ petition that the petitioner has noticed with growing concern the dramatic increase of violence, in particular sexual violence against women and children as well as the implementation of the provisions of Indian Penal Code namely Sections 377,, 375/376 and 354 by the respondent authorities. The existing trend of the respondent authorities has been to treat sexual violence, other than penile/vaginal penetration, as lesser offences falling under either Section 377 or 354 of the IPC and not as a sexual offence under Section 375/376, IPC. It has been found that offences such as sexual abuse of minor children and women by penetration other than penile/vaginal penetration which would taken any other form and could also be through use of objects whose impact on the victims is in no manner legs than the trauma of penile/vaginal penetration as traditionally understood under Section 375/376, have been treated as offences falling under Section 354 of the IPC as outraging the modsty of a women or under Section 377, IPC as unnatural offences.

(3.) The petitioner through the present petition contends that the narrow understanding and application of rape under Section 375/376, IPC only to the cases of penile/vaginal penetration runs contrary to the existing contemporary understanding of rape as an intent to humilitate, violate and degrade a woman or child sexually and, therefore, adversely affects the sexual integrity and autonomy of women and children in violation of Art. 21 of the Constitution.