Supreme Court rebukes Patna High Court over salwar removal ruling
The Supreme Court is calling out a Patna High Court decision recently issued in 2026, where the court said that removing a woman's salwar and pressing her chest didn't count as an attempt to rape.
The incident involved a studio owner allegedly confining and assaulting a woman in his shop.
The Supreme Court highlighted that courts need to be sensitive when handling cases like this.
Supreme Court orders courts follow handbooks
The Supreme Court directed that all courts follow the handbook, and that states instruct police stations to use the handbooks when registering FIRs and filing charge sheets.
The Patna High Court had overturned the studio owner's conviction for attempted rape, saying his actions were only "outraging a woman's modesty" under Section 354 of the IPC, mainly because there was no medical evidence or proof of intent.
The case relied mostly on survivor and family testimonies, but the investigating officer wasn't examined during trial.