Holding

Penetration, not ejaculation, is the sine qua non of rape; therefore the appellant is guilty of attempt to commit rape, not rape.

Summary

The appellant, Koppula Venkat Rao, was convicted of rape for allegedly forcing a teenage girl into a cattle shed, dragging her onto his bicycle, and ejaculating before any penetration occurred. The trial court and High Court upheld the conviction under Section 376 IPC, treating ejaculation as the consummating act of sexual intercourse. On appeal, the Supreme Court examined the legal requirement for rape, holding that penetration, not ejaculation, is the essential element under Section 375 IPC. Consequently, the Court concluded that the facts established only an attempt to commit rape, punishable under Section 511 IPC, and altered the conviction accordingly, reducing the sentence to three years. The appeal was partially allowed, changing the charge from rape to attempt to commit rape.

Issues considered

The essential element of rape under Section 375 IPC – whether penetration or ejaculation is required.
Whether the appellant's conduct constitutes an attempt to commit rape under Section 511 IPC.
What evidentiary standards are needed to prove intent, preparation, and act constituting an attempt.

Legislation cited

Indian Penal Code, 1860s. 375, s. 376, s. 511

Subjects

rapeattempt to commit rapepenetrationejaculationIndian Penal CodeSection 375Section 376Section 511criminal attemptsexual offences

Judgment

A KOPPULA VENKA T RAO
v.
STA TE OF ANDHRA PRADESH

MARCH I 0, 2004

B [DORAISWAMY RAJU AND ARJJIT PASAYAT, JJ.]

Penal Code, J8.60; Ss. 375, 376 and 5J 1:

Accused charged with rape of a teenaged girl-Trial Court convicted
C the accused holding that since act of ejaculation being the ultimate act of
sexual intercourse, it amounts. to rape and actual intercourse immaterial-
Afjirmed by High Court but sentence reduced-On appeal, Held: Jn order to
ascertain the guilt of offence of rape, Court has to find out whether the
accused desired to gratify his passion and intended to do so at all costs
D irrespective of resistance from the victim-Surrounding circumstances and
relevant material could also throw some light to prove commission of rape-
Penetration and not ejaculation is the sine qua non of rape-Jn the light. of
evidence of the prosecutrix, offence of attempt to commit rape and not
commission of the rape was established against the accused-Conviction and
sentence altered accordingly.
E
Attempt to commit a crime vis-a-vis intention to commit a crime-
Distinction between-Discussed

Words and Phrases:

F 'attempt '-Meaning of in the context of Section 5 J1 of Penal Code,
J860.

Accused-appellant and his friends gave lift to the victim, a teenaged
girl and her friends, on their bicycles, and witnessed a late night mo.vie.
While returning back, the accused made the victim sit on his bicycle. He
G rode the bicycle at high speed and stopped near a cattle shed, dragged
her to the shed and attempted to rape her. However, before actual
intercourse he ejaculated. On hearing some sound he ran away along with
his bicyc!e. The victim returned home. Father of the victim approached
village elders and they summoned the accused but he did not turn up by
H 944
- 945
K.V. RAO v. STATE OF A.P.

2 days. FIR was lodged by the father of the victim. Police investigated A
the matter and submitted the charge-sheet. Trial Court found accused
guilty of committing rape. On appeal, decision of the Trial Court was
upheld by the High court. Hence the present appeal.

It was contended by the accused appellant that the Courts below did
not analyse the evidence in their proper perspective; that the evidence of B
PWl and the doctor clearly ruled out the commission of rape on the
victim; and that since actual intercourse and not ejaculation is the sine
qua non of the offence, no case of rape but at the most a case of attempt
to rape could be made out.

Partly allowing the appeal, the Court c
HELD: 1.1. Section 511 IPC is a general provision dealing with
attempts to commit offences not made punishable by other specific sections
of IPC. It makes all attempts to commit offences punishable with
imprisonment and not only those punishable with death. An attempt is . D
made punishable, because every attempt, although it falls short of success,
must create alarm, which by itself is an injury, and the moral guilt of the
offender is the same as if he had succeeded. Moral guilt must be united
to injury in order to justify punishment. As the injury is not as great as
if the act had been committed, only half the punishment is awarded.
[948-F-GJ E

1.2. Attempt to commit an offence can be said to begin when the
preparations are complete and the culprit commences to do something with
the intention of committing the offence and which is a step towards the
commission of the offence. The moment he commences to do an act with
F
-- the necessary intention, he commences his attempt to commit the offence.
An attempt consists in it the intent to commit a crime, falling short of, its
actual commission or consummation/completion, if not prevented, would
have resulted in th.e full consummation of the act attempted. (949-A-B, G)

1.3. An attempt to commit a crime is to be distinguished from an G
intention to commit it, and from preparation made for its commission.
Mere intention to commit an offence, not followed by any act, cannot
constitute an offence. The will is not to be taken for the deed unless there

- be some external act which shows that progress has been made in the
direction of it, or towards maturing and effecting it. Intention is the
direction of conduct towards the object chosen upon considering the H

\
I
946 SUPREME COURT REPORTS [2004] 2 S.C.R.

A motives which suggest the choice. Preparation consists in devising or
arranging the means or measures necessary for the commission of the
offence. It differs widely from attempt which is the direct movement
towards the commission after preparations are made. The dividing line
between a mere preparation and an attempt is sometimes thin and has to
be decided on the facts of each case. There is a greater degree of
B determination in attempt as compared with preparation. [949-C-EJ

1.4. In order to find an accused guilty of an attempt with intent to
commit a rape, Court has to be satisfied that the accused, when he laid
hold of the prosecutrix, not only desired to gratify his passions upon her
C person, but that he intended to do so at all events, and notwithstanding
any resistance on her part. Indecent assaults are often magnified into
attempts at rape. In order to come to a conclusion that the conduct of
the accused was indicative of a determination to gratify his passion at all
events, and in spite of all resistance, materials must exist. Surrounding
circumstances many times throw beacon light on that aspect. [950-A-B]
D
1.5. The sine qua non of the offence of rape is penetration, and not
ejaculation. Ejaculation without penetration constitutes an attempt to
commit rape and not actual rape. Definition of "rape" as contained in
Section 375 IPC refers to "sexual intercourse" and the Explanation
appended to the Section provides that penetration is sufficient to constitute
E the sexual intercourse necessary to the offence of rape. Intercourse means
sexual connection. In the instant case that connection has not ·been
established. Courts below were not correct in their view. [950-C-D)

2. On consideration of the evidence of the prosecutrix in the proper
F perspective, the commission of actual rape has not been established.
However, there were sufficient evidence against the accused which proved
commission of offence of attempt to commit rape. Hence, conviction is
altered from Section 376 IPC to Section 376/511 IPC and custodial
sentence reduced to 3Yz years would met the ends of justice. [950-E)

G CRIMINAL APPELLATE JURISDICTION : Criminal Appeal No. 84
of 1998.

From the Judgment and Order dated 13.8.1997 of the Andhra Pradesh
High Court in Cr!. A. No. 343 of 1995.

H G. Ramakrishna Prasad, Md. Wasay Khan and S.U.K. Sagar for the
K.V. RAO v. STATE OF A.P. [PASAYAT,J.] 947
.......... Appellant. A
Guntur Prabhakar for the Respondent

The Judgment of the Court was delivered by

ARIJIT PASA YAT, J. Taking lift on a bicycle after a late night B
movie show and travelling in darkness can result in some harrowing-traumas
for a teenaged girl as the victim in the present case experienced.

Accused-appellant Koppula Venkat Rao calls in question legality of
his conviction as recorded by the Trial Court and upheld by Learned Single
Judge of the Andhra Pradesh High Court under Section 376 of the Indian C
Penal Code 1860 (in short "the IPC"). He was sentenced to undergo 10 years
RI by the Trial Court which was reduced to 5 years by the High Court.

Accusation which led to the trial of the accused are essentially as
follows":
D
On 10. 6. 1991 at about 6.00 p.m. the victim along with her friend and
two others started by walk from their village to go to a nearby place for
witnessing a movie. They reached cross-roads of the village where the accused
along with his friends who were going to Borrampalem on their bicycles met
them and gave lift to the victim girl and her friends and all of them witnessed E
the picture at a movie hall. At the time of return accused nourished an idea
of quenching his lust by committing sexual intercourse with the victim, invited
her to board his bicycle and the victim girl agreed to accompany him and sat
on his bicycle and the accused road the bicycle at high speed and reached
near a cattle shed, stopped the bicycle dragged the victim by using criminal
force into the cattle shed took out her sari, and got on top of her before actual F
intercourse ejaculated. The accused left the victim on hearing some sound
and went away along with his bicycle. Thereafter, the victim girl came on to
the road. The parents of the victim girl took her to the village. The father of
the victim girl approached the village elders on the same night who promised
to summon the accused on the next day. But the accused did not turn up till
the evening. On 12.6.1991, when the victim girl along with her parents were G
on the way to Police Station the S.I. of police met them and asked them to
go to the Government Hospital, and there he recorded the statement of the

- victim girl and on the basis of statement a Crime was registered in crime No.
39/91 and investigation was started. After investigation, charge sheet was
filed. The accused pleaded innocence and faced trial. H
948 SUPREME COURT REPORTS [2004] 2 S.C.R.

A Prosecution examined 12 witnesses. PW- I is the victim while PW-2
and PW-3 are her mother and father respectfully. PW-5 is the doctor who
examined the victim and PW-12 is the doctor who examined the accused.

Placing reliance on the evidence of PW- I, the Trial court convicted the
accused as aforesaid holding that the victim was subjected to rape by the
B accused. Conclusions were upheld by the High Court. Both the Courts held
that since ejaculation was there, it ·amounted to rape and whether actual
intercourse was there is immaterial, ejaculation being the ultimate act of
sexual intercourse.

In support of the appeal, learned counsel for the appellant submitted
C that the prosecution version has many loose ends and the Courts below have
not analysed the evidence in their proper perspective. Additionally, the
evidence of PW-1 and the doctors evidence clearly rules out the commission
of rape as alleged. Even if the prosecution version is accepted in its totality,
no case of rape is made out and at the most a case of attempt to rape is made
D out. Actual intercourse and not ejaculation is the sine qua non of the offence.

Per contra, learned counsel for the respondent-State submitted that the
well-reasoned orders of the Trial Court and the High Court unerringly point
out that accused had committed rape on the victim, as established beyond a
shadow of doubt. The version of the Prosecutrix alone can form the foundation
E of conviction.

The plea relating to applicability of Section 376 read with Section 511.
IPC needs careful consideration. In every crime, there is first, intention to
commit, secondly preparation to commit it, thirdly, attempt to commit it. If
the third stage, that is, attempt is successful, then the crime is complete. If
F the attempt fails the crime is not complete, but law punishes the person
attempting the Act, Section 511 is a general provision dealing with attempts
to commit offences not made punishable by other specific sections. It makes
punishable all attempts to commit offences punishable with imprisonment
and not only those punishable with death. An attempt is made punishable,
G because every attempt, although it falls short of success, must create alarm,
which by itself is an injury, and the moral guilt of t\le offender is the same
as if he had succeeded. Moral guilt must be united to injury in order to justify
punishment. As the injury is not as great as if the act had been committed,
only half the punishment is awarded.

H A culprit first intends to commit the offence, then makes preparation
K.V. RAO v. STATE OF A.P. [PASAYAT,J.] 949
for committing it and thereafter attempts to commit the offence. If the attempt A
succeeds, he has committed the offence, if it fails due to reasons beyond his
control, he is said to have attempted to commit the offence. Attempt to
commit an offence can be said to begin when the preparations are complete
and the culprit commences to do something with the intention of committing
the offence and which is a step towards the commission of the offence. The B
moment he commences to do an act with the necessary intention, he
commences his attempt to commit the offence. The word "attempt" is _not
itself defined, and must, therefore, be taken in its ordinary meaning. This is
exactly what the provisions of Section 511 require. An attempt to commit a
crime is to be distinguished from an intention to commit it, and from ·
preparation made for its commission. Mere intention to commit an offence, C
not followed by any act, cannot constitute an offence. The will is not to be
taken for the deed unless there be some external act which shows that progress
has been made in the direction of it, or towards maturing and effecting it.
Intention is the direction of conduct towards the object chosen upon
considering the motives Which suggest the choice. Preparation consists in
devising or arraniing the means or measures necessary for the commission D
l'f the offence. It differs widely from attempt which is the direct moveme~t
!awards the commission after preparations are made. Preparation to commit
an offence is punishable only when the preparation is to commit offences
under Section 122 (waging war against the Government of India) and Section
399 (preparation to commit dacoity). The dividing line between a mere E
preparation and an attempt is sometimes thin and has to be decided on the
facts of each case. There is a greater degree of determination in attempt as
compared with preparation.

An attempt to commit an offence is an act, or a series of acts, which
leads inevitably to the commission of the offence, unless something, which F
the doer of the act neither foresaw nor intended, happens to prevent this. An
attempt may be described to be an act done in part execution of a criminal
design, amounting to more than more preparation, but falling short of actual
consummation, and, possessing, except for failure to consummate, all the
elements of the substantive crime. In other words, an attempt consists in it
the intent to commit a crime, falling short .of, its actual ·commission or G
consummation/completion. It may consequently be defined as that which if
not prevented would have resulted in the full consummation of the act
attempted. The illustrations given in Section 511 clearly show the legislative
intention to make a difference between the cases of a mere preparation and
an attempt. H
:- t:

.·
950 SUPREME COURT REPORTS [2004] 2 S.C.R.

A In order to find an accused guilty of an attempt with intent to commit
a rape. Court has to be satisfied that the accused, when he laid hold of the
prosecutrix, not only desired to gratify his passions upon her person, but that
he intended to do so at all events, and notwithstanding any resistance on her
part. Indecent assaults are often magnified into attempts at rape. In order to
come to a conclusion that the conduct of the accused was indicative of a
B determination to gratify his passion at all events, and in spite of all resistance,
materials must exist. Surrounding circumstances many times throw beacon
light on that aspect.

The sine qua. non of the offence of rape is penetration, and not
C ejaculation. Ejaculation without penetration constitutes an attempt to commit
rape and not actual rape. Definition of"rape" as contained in Section _375 !PC
refers to "sexual intercourse" and the Explanation appended to the Section
provides that penetration is sufficient to constitute the sexual intercourse
necessary to the offence of rape. Intercourse means sexual connection.

D In the instant case that connection has not been established .. Courts
belo~,were not correct in their view.
f
- When the evidence of the prosecutrix is considered in the proper
perspective, it is dear that the commissiO'n of actual rape has not been
established. However, the evidence is sufficient io prove that attempt to
E commit rape was made. That being the position, conviction is altered from
Section 376 !PC to Section 376/511 !PC. Custodial sentence of3 and'/, years
would meet the ends of justice. The accused who is on bail shall surrender
to custody to serve remainder of his sentence.

The appeal is allowed to the extent indicated.

S.K.S. Appeal allowed.

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