No licence to rape a woman who appears to be promiscuous: SC

"Even if the victim in a given case has been promiscuous in her sexual behaviour earlier, she has a right to refuse to submit herself to sexual intercourse to anyone and everyone because she is not a vulnerable object or prey for being sexually assaulted by anyone and everyone," the apex court observed.

"Even if it is hypothetically accepted that the victim had lost her virginity earlier, it did not and cannot in law give licence to any person to rape her," a Bench of Justices Arijit Pasayat and Mukundakam Sharma passed the observation while quashing the acquittal order passed by the Allahabad High Court in favour of a rape accused.

Though the trial court had convicted the accused Munshi and another person for the rape of a 17-year old woman, the High Court acquitted the accused persons on the ground that victim was promiscuous in her sexual behaviour and had already lost her virginity.

Upholding the appeal, the apex court on perusal of the medical and other evidence said that even assuming that the victim was previously accustomed to sexual intercourse, the same cannot be a ground for disbelieving her testimony or convicting the accused.

"On the contrary, the question which was required to be adjudicated was did the accused commit rape on the victim on the occasion complained of. It is the accused who was on trial and not the victim,” the Bench said.

The apex court said that a prosecutrix complaining of having been a victim of the offence of rape is not an accomplice of the crime.

"There is no rule of law that her testimony cannot be acted upon without corroboration in material particulars. She stands at a higher pedestal," the Bench observed.

Hence, the apex court directed the High Court to ‘re-hear’ the matter.