The Delhi High Court has ruled that women can be prosecuted for gang rape if they act as facilitators, even without direct physical involvement. The verdict clarifies the legal interpretation of the Indian Penal Code and Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita regarding group liability. This confirms that shared intention and collective participation form the basis for gang rape charges under current law.
The Delhi High Court has delivered a significant verdict clarifying that individuals, including women, can be charged with gang rape if they act as facilitators, even if they were not physically involved in the act. Justice Anup Jairam Bhambhani dismissed a petition filed by a woman seeking to challenge these charges, establishing that the physical act of rape is not a mandatory requirement for facing gang rape prosecution under Indian law.
The ruling centers on the interpretation of Section 376D of the Indian Penal Code and Section 70 of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita. The court observed that these statutes are designed to address the shared intention and collective participation of a group in committing an offense. By defining participants as individuals deemed to have committed the offence of rape, the legislation aims to hold all contributors accountable for their role in the crime, regardless of their gender.
This legal precedent emerged from a specific case registered in July 2024 at the Bhalswa Dairy police station. Prosecutors alleged that the accused woman had repeatedly threatened and forced her minor daughter into sexual relations with a male co-accused between December 2023 and July 2024. The accused had argued that because the statutory definitions of rape often referenced male perpetrators, she should not be subject to gang rape charges.
The court rejected this argument, with support from the amicus curiae, advocate Rohan J. Alva, who argued that gender should not be an exclusionary factor when an individual is part of a criminal group. The High Court’s decision upholds the trial court’s order from January 17, 2025, reaffirming that facilitators will be held to the same legal standards as those performing the physical act. This judgment sets a clear precedent for how group liability is viewed in cases of sexual violence under both the older Indian Penal Code and the new Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita.