NEW DELHI: The Jharkhand High Court has reduced the conviction of a man accused of attempting to rape a woman in 2003, holding that the evidence established an assault but did not prove an attempt to rape.
The court converted Shankar Ram’s conviction from attempt to rape under Sections 376/511 of the Indian Penal Code (IPC) to assault with intent to outrage a woman’s modesty under Section 354 IPC. It sentenced him to the period he had already spent in custody, which was around two months.
What was the case?
According to the court order, the woman was cutting grass in her field on October 2, 2003, when Shankar allegedly approached her.
She told the court that he pushed her to the ground twice and chased her when she tried to escape. She raised an alarm, following which he fled.
The woman later informed her family about the incident and identified Shankar as the man involved. A case was registered against him on October 4, 2003.
A trial court in Palamau convicted Shankar under Sections 376/511 IPC in 2005 and sentenced him to seven years of rigorous imprisonment and a fine of ₹1,000.
He challenged the conviction before the High Court, arguing that there were contradictions in the woman’s statements and that the evidence did not establish an attempt to rape. The state opposed the appeal and supported the trial court’s decision.
What did the High Court say?
Justice Pradeep Kumar Srivastava held that the woman’s evidence established that Shankar had pushed her to the ground and assaulted her, but there was no specific evidence of an act sufficiently proximate to the commission of rape.
The court also noted that when the woman initially informed her family about the incident, she described a physical assault rather than a specific attempt to have sexual intercourse.
“The evidence of the prosecutrix, when considered in its entirety, does not disclose any specific or overt act on the part of the appellant which can be said to constitute an act towards the commission of rape so as to attract the ingredients of an offence punishable under Section 376/511 of the I.P.C,” the court said.
The High Court found that the evidence consistently established that Shankar had caught hold of the woman and pushed her to the ground.
It held that these acts established an assault with the intention, or knowledge, that they were likely to outrage her modesty, attracting Section 354 IPC.
“The consistent evidence of the prosecutrix regarding the appellant having caught hold of her and pushed her to the ground, coupled with the surrounding circumstances, establishes that the appellant had committed an assault upon the prosecutrix with the intention of outraging or with knowledge that his act was likely to outrage, her modesty,” the court said.
Sentence reduced to time already served
The High Court accordingly altered Shankar’s conviction from attempt to rape to assault under Section 354 IPC.
While determining the sentence, the court noted that Shankar was a first-time offender and that more than 22 years had passed since the incident.
Considering his age, character and past record, the court sentenced him to the period he had already spent in custody, which was approximately two months.
Shankar was already out on bail. Following the modification of his conviction and sentence, the court discharged him from his bail bond and released his sureties.
The judgment was pronounced on August 12, 2026.
