Other members of gang still for rape by one member, observes SC

The Supreme Court has reaffirmed that in gangrape cases, all accused involved can be held equally guilty, even if the act of rape was committed by only one among them, reported TOI. A bench comprising Justices Sanjay Karol and K V Viswanathan ruled that the prosecution is not required to present conclusive proof of individual acts by each accused to secure convictions in such cases.

The court dismissed a plea by one of the accused, who argued that he was not named in the FIR alongside the main accused and had only assisted the primary offender. The bench held that such a claim does not absolve him of equal liability in a gangrape.

Rejecting the plea, the bench said, “In a case of gangrape under Section 376(2)(g), an act by one is enough to render all in the gang for punishment as long as they have acted in furtherance of the common intention. Further, common intention is implicit in the charge of Section 376(2)(g) itself and all that is needed is evidence to show the existence of common intention.”

Citing previous Supreme Court rulings, the bench stated that to establish a gangrape offence under Section 376(2)(g) of the IPC, the prosecution must show that more than one accused acted in concert. Once this is proven, all involved can be held guilty—even if only one actually committed the act of rape. It is not necessary to provide evidence of a completed act of rape by each individual accused, the court clarified.