Criminal Law Final Draft Dr Ram Manohar Lohiya National Law University.

DR. RAM MANOHAR LOHIYA

NATIONAL LAW UNIVERSITY,
LUCKNOW

CRIMINAL LAW II
Final Draft
Case Analysis : State of Punjab v. Major
Singh
SUBMITTED TO
Dr. KA Pandey
Assistant Professor (Law)
Dr. Ram Manohar Lohia National Law University
SUBMITTED BY
Aditya Singh
Roll number : 13
Section A
1|Page

Criminal Law Final Draft Dr Ram Manohar Lohiya National Law University.

Semester IV
ACKNOWLEDGEMENT

I would like to utilize this opportunity to extend gratitude to

our esteemed Professor of Criminal Law, Dr. K.A.Pandey, who
has been a constant source of inspiration for us in the
pursuance of this project. Sir has been gracious enough to
guide us on the right path which has enabled us to strengthen
our efforts.
I shall not forget to acknowledge the help that I got from the
college authorities for availing such a good library facility
where right books and articles were at our immediate access.
I may also take this opportunity to wish the reader of my
project, a knowledgeable experience. The project has been
made with utmost care & with utmost finesse to see that the
information mentioned is to the best of the accuracy and
correctness.

2|Page

Criminal Law Final Draft Dr Ram Manohar Lohiya National Law University.

1. Name of the Case

State of Punjab v. Major Singh

2. Citation
1967 AIR 63 1966 SCR (2) 286

3. Composition of Bench
A.K. SARKAR (CJ), J.R. MUDHOLKAR, R.S. BACHAWAT.

A. Facts of the Case

Major Singh was accused of outraging modesty of a 7 and a half
month old girl. According to the reports, he fingered the vagina of
this girl. The action of the accused was that he interfered with
and thereby caused injury to the vagina of the child, who was
seven and half months old. The main question which arose in this
case was that whether a girl of such tender age possesses any
modesty. It was a question on the scope of relevance of the age
of the victim under Section 354 of Indian Penal Code, 1860.

B. Legal issues involved

Section 354 of The Indian Penal Code Outraging modesty of

a woman.
Section 350 of The Indian Penal Code Criminal Force.
Section 10 of The Indian Penal Code Definition of
Man/Woman.

C. Judgment of the Court

Conviction of the appellant for offence punishable under Section 354
of the IPC. The three Judge bench awarded him rigorous
3|Page

Criminal Law Final Draft Dr Ram Manohar Lohiya National Law University.
imprisonment for the term of 2 years and a fine of Rs. 1-000/- and in
default, rigorous imprisonment for a period of six months, and also
out of the fine, if realised Rs. 500/- shall be paid as compensation to
the child.
Three Judge Bench observed that
Women who are likely to be made victims of this offence are
those who are young and who are old enough to feel the
sense of modesty and the effect of the acts directed against it.
But it does not deprive others of the protection from the
licence of man, provided their sense of modesty is sufficiently
developed
The time is 9-30 p.m. The respondent walks into the room
where the baby is sleeping and switches off the light. He strips
himself naked below the waist and kneels over her. In this
indecent posture he gives vent to his unnatural lust, and in
the process ruptures the hymen and causes a tear 3/4" long
inside her vagina. He flees when the mother enters the room
and puts on the light. I think he outraged and intended to
outrage whatever modesty the little victim was possessed of.

The Court said that he used criminal force to an infant girl for satisfying
his lust. In this case the action of Major Singh in interfering with the vagina
of the child was deliberate and he must be deemed to have intended to
outrage her modesty. They therefore, allow the appeal, alter the
conviction of the respondent under Section 354 of Indian Penal Code and
awarded him rigorous imprisonment to a term of two years and a fine of
Rs. 1,000/- and in default rigorous imprisonment for a period of six
months. Out of the fine, if realised, Rs. 500/- shall be paid as
compensation to the child.
Justice Bachawat said
Section 10 of the Indian Penal Code explains that "woman"
denotes a female human being of any age. The expression
"woman" is used in Section 354 in conformity with this
explanation. The offence punishable under Section 354 is an
assault on or use of criminal force to a woman with the
intention of outraging her modesty or with the knowledge of
the likelihood of doing so. The Code does not define
4|Page

Criminal Law Final Draft Dr Ram Manohar Lohiya National Law University.
"modesty". What then is a woman's modesty? I think that the
essence of a woman's modesty is her sex. The modesty of an
adult female is writ large on her body. Young or old, intelligent
or imbecile, awake or sleeping, the woman possesses modesty
capable of being outraged. Whoever uses criminal force to her
with intent to outrage her modesty commits an offence
punishable under Section 354. The culpable intention of the
accused is the crux of the matter. The reaction of the woman
is very relevant, but its absence is not always decisive. For
example, when the accused with a corrupt mind stealthily
touches the flesh of a sleeping woman. She may be an idiot,
she may be under the spell of anaesthesia, she may be
sleeping, she may be unable to appreciate the significance of
the act; nevertheless, the offender is punishable under the
section. A female of tender age stands on a somewhat
different footing. Her body is immature, and her sexual powers
are dormant. In this case, the victim is a baby seven and half
months old. She has not yet developed a sense of shame and
has no awareness of sex. Nevertheless, from her very birth
she possesses the modesty which is the attribute of her sex.
But cases must be rare indeed where the offender can be
shown to have acted with the intention of outraging her
modesty. Rarely does a normal man use criminal force to an
infant girl for satisfying his lust. I regret to say that we have
before us one of such rare cases. Let us reconstruct the scene.
The time is 9-30 p.m. The respondent walks into the room
where the baby is sleeping and switches off the light. He strips
himself naked below the waist and kneels over her. In this
indecent posture he gives vent to his unnatural lust, and in
the process ruptures the hymen and causes a tear 3/4" long
inside her vagina. He flees when the mother enters the room
and puts on the light. I think he outraged and intended to
outrage whatever modesty the little victim was possessed of

Following issue was raised before the court in the concerned case
5|Page

Criminal Law Final Draft Dr Ram Manohar Lohiya National Law University.

1. Can someone outrage the modesty of a girl of seven and a half

months?
The Court came to the conclusion that a woman is born with her
modesty. An Insane woman also does not recognise what is
happening to her but still she has Modesty. Same goes with a
woman under the influence of intoxication or under the effect of
anaesthesia. But one cannot say that someone cannot outrage the
modesty of an insane girl or a woman under the influence of alcohol
or anaesthesia.
The fact that a girl of seven and a half months also comes under the
category of female cannot be denied. Commuting Section 71 of
Indian Penal Code and Section 102 of Indian Penal Code, one can
come to a conclusion that a girl of mere seven and a half months
also comes under Woman.

D. Analysis of the Judgment

The judgment was widely applauded for being open-minded and

taking into account the intent of the legislature in drafting the Act.
The Court took into consideration that under what circumstances
the crime was committed and what was the motive behind the
crime. The Court was not driven by the facts that media was
propagating and did not came under its influence but stuck to the
point that whether the modesty of a seven and a half month old girl
can be outraged or not.
Court has very well laid down that the modesty of any girl
irrespective of the age can be outraged and that the case will come
under the purview of Section 354 of the Indian Penal Code.

1 Section 7 of Indian Penal Code Sense of expression once explained - Every expression which is explained in
any part of this code is used in every part of this code in conformity with the explanation.

2 Section 10 of Indian Penal Code Man, Woman The word man denotes a male human
being of any age; the word woman denotes a female human being of any age.
6|Page

Criminal Law Final Draft Dr Ram Manohar Lohiya National Law University.
It is submitted that our Apex Court was correct in appreciating the
facts and implications of the case and has adopted a constructive
approach in coming to the conclusion. The Court found that the High
Court has erred in its judgment and re-established the fact that
courts are there to provide Justice. The Court asked an interesting
question upon looking up the provisions laid down that if a girl is
under the effect of any intoxicant or if she is insane then too her
modesty can be outraged then why is it that the modesty of a seven
and a half month old can be outraged?
Thus the Court took into account all the circumstances and all the
aspects and did opined to the Judgment of the lower court in
awarding the sentence under Section 354 of the Indian Penal Code.
The judiciary is endowed with a noble task of taking into account the
circumstances in which the crime is committed and also taking into
account the degree of crime. The Court must be applaud for taking
into account that whether the crime was out of a personal vendetta
or was of such a nature that the whole society was affected as
ultimately the purpose of the law is to achieve the ends of justice by
furthering the interests of the people. Here, the Supreme Court
deserves great appreciation for it has not merely applied the facts to
the written law but has also considered the practicality of the
situation.

BIBLIOGRAPHY

1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.

Dr. K.I Vibhute, PSA Pillais Criminal Law, 11th edition.

www.manupatrafast.in
www.scconline.co.in
STPL (Web)
www.legalservicesindia.com
The Indian Penal Code
http://indiankanoon.org/doc/960519/

7|Page