A man was convicted of murder and rape, and when he filed a petition, the Karnataka High Court held on May 30 that having sexual intercourse with the dead body of a woman does not constitute the crime of rape.
Rape is an offense punishable under section 376 of the Indian Penal Code, 1860.
Facts of the case (Rangaraju Vajapeyi v. State of Karnataka)
A 21-year-old woman was returning home from her computer classes on June 25, 2015. The accused, Rangaraju, hugged the woman and closed her mouth. He then dragged the 21-year-old into a nearby bush. Then, the man cut the lady’s throat and thus murdered her. Section 302 of the Indian Penal Code punishes this crime.
After murdering the woman, the man raped her.
The police registered the case. They obtained a voluntary statement from Rangaraju (the accused). The police then filed the chargesheet. The magistrate took cognizance of the matter and referred it to the session judge. The judge charges Rangaraju (the accused) with two offences, murder and rape, under sections 302 and 376 of the Indian Penal Code respectively.
After carefully studying all the pieces of evidence presented, the prosecution firmly proved that the defendant committed the crime of murder and then “raped” the victim. The session judge sentenced the convict to life imprisonment, along with a fine of Rs. 50,000 for murder. For the crime of rape committed on the body of the victim, the accused was sentenced to another 10 years of imprisonment along with Rs. 25,000 fine.
As a result of this, the convict filed an appeal before the Karnataka High Court.
The court’s decision on the matter
A bench comprising Justices Venkatesh Naik and B. Veerappa suggested that the Center should amend the Indian Penal Code to safeguard the dignity of the dead, while partially allowing the appeal of the convict for the murder and subsequent rape of the victim.
The Karnataka High Court upheld the trial court’s life imprisonment sentence for the offense of murder under Section 302 of the Indian Penal Code. However, the Karnataka High Court acquitted the convict under Section 376 of the Indian Penal Code, arguing that there is no provision in the Indian Penal Code that punishes the convict for raping a dead body.
“It is true that the accused had sexual intercourse with the dead body,” the Kerala High Court said. However, it is yet to be ascertained whether the act would be treated as an offense under Section 375 (rape) and Section 377 (unnatural offences).
However, the court later said, “A careful reading of the provisions of sections 375 and 377 of the Indian Penal Code makes it clear that the dead body cannot be considered human or person. Therefore, the provisions of sections 375 or 377 of the Indian Penal Code would not attract…”
The court also said that the convict had not committed any crime that can be punished under Article 376 (punishment for the crime of rape). He also clarified that “sexual relations with a corpse are nothing more than necrophilia.”
What is meant by necrophilia?
In Rangaraju Vajpeyi v. State of Karnataka, the Karnataka High Court opined that necrophilia is a grotesque desire or fascination for the dead, or more specifically, an erotic desire towards dead bodies.
The DSM-IV classifies “Paraphilias” as a psychosexual disorder, which includes pedophilia, sexual masochism, exhibitionism, and necrophilia. The factors that contribute to this disorder could range from rage to experimentation and lust, rather than sexual habits or urges.
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Source: ptivs2.edu.vn