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Sahaj Vidhi
Law Optional 2023 Paper II solved

A twenty year old girl 'G' was coming back to home after attending college. A man 'M' held her, shut her mouth and dragged her to a nearby bush, where he slit the girl's throat thereby killing her. Thereafter he raped her. Decide what offence(s), if any, 'M' has committed in the above case. Explain the relevant statutory provisions in detail.

Verified Answer

  1. Core Legal Answer & Context: M has committed a series of grave offences. The sequence of events clearly indicates a continuous criminal transaction involving violence, culminating in death and then sexual assault. The primary offences are Murder and Rape. The initial acts of holding, shutting her mouth, and dragging her are preparatory or incidental to these main crimes and would be subsumed under them or constitute lesser offences like wrongful restraint, assault, or abduction.

  2. Relevant Statutes and Sections: Indian Penal Code, 1860.

  • Murder: M slit G's throat, causing her death. This act falls squarely under Section 300 of the IPC, which defines murder. Specifically, it satisfies clause (1) (intention to cause death) and/or clause (3) (intention to cause bodily injury sufficient in the ordinary course of nature to cause death). The punishment for murder is prescribed in Section 302, which is death or imprisonment for life, and fine.
  • Rape: M raped G after killing her. Section 375 defines rape. The definition includes penetration without consent. While the victim was dead at the time of penetration, Indian courts have consistently held that if the sexual act is committed immediately after killing and forms part of the same continuous transaction of violence, it constitutes rape. The intent to rape can be inferred from the overall conduct, and the act of sexual penetration on a human body, even if deceased, immediately following a violent assault leading to death, is treated as rape. The punishment for rape is prescribed in Section 376, which includes rigorous imprisonment for not less than ten years, but which may extend to imprisonment for life, and fine.
  • Other potential offences (subsumed or lesser): Acts like wrongful restraint (Section 341), wrongful confinement (Section 342), assault (Section 351), or criminal force (Section 350) are part of the larger criminal enterprise leading to murder and rape and would typically be considered aggravating circumstances for the main offences rather than separate convictions, or they would merge into the more serious charges.

  1. Important Landmark Cases: The Nirbhaya Case (Mukesh & Anr. v. State of NCT of Delhi) (2017) is a crucial precedent. In this case, the Supreme Court upheld convictions for both murder and rape where the victim was subjected to extreme sexual violence leading to her death. The court treated the acts as distinct but interconnected offences forming part of a single, brutal criminal transaction. Courts generally do not allow an accused to escape rape charges merely because they first killed the victim to prevent resistance or testimony.

  2. Clear Conclusion: M has committed the offences of Murder under Section 302 IPC and Rape under Section 376 IPC. The initial acts of violence leading to her death are integral to the murder charge, and the subsequent sexual assault, even on the deceased body, is considered rape as part of the continuous criminal transaction. M is liable for both these heinous crimes.