Raipur: In a significant observation, the Chhattisgarh High Court has said that engaging in sexual intercourse with a human corpse is a horrendous crime but not a punishable offence.
The high court upheld the acquittal of a man against whom a case was filed for raping a minor’s dead body (necrophilia) even though he was convicted for other offences, Bar and Bench reported.
A bench of Chief Justice Ramesh Sinha and Justice Bibhu Dutta Guru said that Neelu Nagesh had committed one of the most horrendous acts one can think of, but it does not come under Section 376 of BNS (previously IPC) or under the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act.
“Such provisions apply only when the victim is alive. There is no doubt that the offence committed by the accused — Neelkanth alias Neelu Nagesh raping a dead body is one of the most horrendous crimes one can think of. But the fact of the matter is that as of date, the said accused cannot be convicted for the offence punishable under Sections 363, 376 (3) of the IPC, Section 6 of the POCSO Act, 2012 and Section 3(2)(v) of the Act of 1989 as the offence of rape was committed with a dead body. For convicting an offence under the aforementioned sections, the victim should be alive,” the two-member bench stated.
The court was hearing a petition filed by two men accused in a case involving kidnapping, rape and murder of a minor, who was sexually assaulted even after her death.
Nagesh and Nitin Yadav had been convicted for different offences under the IPC and POCSO Act.
Yadav, found guilty of rape, kidnapping and murder, was handed life imprisonment, while his aide Nagesh was convicted under Section 201 (causing disappearance of evidence of an offence, or giving false information to screen offender) and 34 (acts done by several persons in furtherance of common intention), and sentenced to seven years of imprisonment.
There was a further case against Nagesh on the ground that despite indulging in necrophilia, the trial court acquitted him of rape charges under IPC and POCSO Act.
The prosecution argued that although Indian law did not classify sexual intercourse with a dead body as ‘rape’ under Section 376 of the IPC, Article 21 of the Constitution gives the right to die with dignity, which also pertains to the treatment of a person’s body after death.
The high court held that the prosecution had proved beyond doubt that the two accused were guilty and upheld their respective convictions and sentences, Bar and Bench reported.
