The Supreme Court of India on Tuesday objected to a controversial observation made by the Allahabad High Court regarding a rape case of an M.A student in Noida. The Allahabad HC observed that the rape victim “herself invited trouble”. A bench led by Justices BR Gavai and A G Masih found the High Court’s observations highly insensitive.
The apex court also cautioned judges to be “careful” while dealing with cases involving sexual violence against women.
The Supreme Court took objection to the Allahabad High Court Order which granted bail to the accused of committing rape against a college student while observing that the victim had herself invited trouble and was responsible for the rape.
Justice Sanjay Kumar Singh of the High Court had made this comment on March 11 while granting bail to an accused who was arrested in December 2024 for alleged rape of a woman he had met at a bar in Hauz Khas, Delhi.
The Supreme Court made the observation while hearing a suo motu case initiated by it in relation to another case in which the Allahabad High Court had held that acts of grabbing a child victim’s breasts, breaking the string of her pyjama and attempting to drag her beneath a culvert do not constitute the offence of rape or attempt to rape. On Tuesday, a bench of Justices B R Gavai and A G Masih assembled to hear the case in which it had taken suo motu cognisance of a March 17, 2025, order of the Allahabad HC.
One has to be careful: Supreme Court slams Allahabad HC
The Allahabad High Court has granted bail to a rape accused, observing that the complainant “herself invited trouble” by agreeing to go to the applicant’s house after getting drunk. This comes days after the Supreme Court intervened to stay an “insensitive” order passed by another high court justice in a rape attempt case.
“Yes, bail can be granted.. but what is this discussion that she herself invited trouble, etc? One has to be careful when saying such things, especially on this side (judges). One thing here and there,” Bar and Bench quoted Justice BR Gavai.
Allahabad High Court’s observation on rape victim
“The victim is a student of M.A, hence, she was competent enough to understand the morality and significance of her act as disclosed by her in the FIR. This court is of the view that even if the allegation of the victim is accepted as true, then it can also be concluded that she herself invited trouble and was also responsible for the same. A similar stand has been taken by the victim in her statement,” stated the order passed by Justice Sanjay Kumar Singh in Allahabad High Court last month.
Noida rape case 2024
The March 11 order of the Allahabad High Court relates to the case which happened on September 21, 2024. According to police, the woman, a postgraduate student in Noida, had gone to attend a music concert in South Delhi with her friends. She met the accused, who was known to one of her friends, there. In her complaint, the victim has stated that the accused, who is also a student, offered to drop her back to Noida but instead took her to an apartment in Gurugram, where he allegedly raped her. The woman filed a complaint at the police station the next day.
