Supreme Court questions Patna High Court ruling on salwar removal and chest pressing case

The Supreme Court intervened after a Patna High Court ruling cleared Himanshu Pathak of attempt-to-rape charges stemming from a 2008 incident in a photo studio. Chief Justice Surya Kant’s bench, including Justices Joymalya Bagchi and V Mohana, said the high court’s reasoning contained objectionable passages and that the matter could only be set aside after hearing the accused. The court directed the state government to help the local police serve a notice to Pathak.

Senior advocate Shobha Gupta had highlighted the high court order, prompting the suo motu action. The high court had previously downgraded the offense to outraging modesty under Section 354 of the IPC, overturning a 2013 conviction for attempt to rape under Sections 376 and 511.