BACK TO SECTIONS(2017) 6 SCC 1
Non-BailableCognizable: CognizableCourt of Session
Reform Highlights
1
Renumbered from IPC 376D to BNS 70.
2
Mandatory 20-year minimum to natural life preserved.
3
Death penalty for gang rape of child under 12 years.
4
Fine must be paid to victim for rehabilitation.
THE STATUTE
The Clause
Where a woman is raped by one or more persons constituting a group or acting in furtherance of a common intention, each of those persons shall be deemed to have committed the offence of rape and shall be punished with rigorous imprisonment for a term which shall not be less than twenty years, but which may extend to imprisonment for life, which shall mean imprisonment for the remainder of that person's natural life, and with fine.
Legal Commentary
Section 70 criminalises gang rape and establishes a mandatory minimum of 20 years rigorous imprisonment, extendable to natural life. The section operates on a principle of collective liability: every member of a group that rapes a woman is deemed to have committed rape, regardless of whether each individual personally penetrated the victim. This closes a loophole historically exploited by perpetrators who argued they had not themselves committed penetration. Participation in the group exercising force or causing the victim to be subjected to rape makes every participant equally liable. Where the victim is a child under 12 years, death penalty is prescribed. A fine is mandatory and must be just and reasonable — paid to the victim to meet at least her medical expenses and rehabilitation costs. In-camera trial is mandated to protect the victim's identity.
Landmark Precedents
Mukesh & Anr v. State for NCT of Delhi (Nirbhaya) (2017)
RELEVANCE
The defining case on gang rape in India — death sentences upheld for four of the accused in the 2012 Delhi gang rape, applying the 'rarest of rare' doctrine.
Case Simulations
"Four men who abduct a woman — two holding her, one raping her, one acting as lookout — all four are guilty of gang rape under BNS 70."
"A gang rape of a 10-year-old girl — death penalty applicable under the proviso to Section 70."
Expert Insights
Yes. Section 70 deems every person constituting the group or acting in furtherance of common intention to have committed rape — individual participation in the act of penetration is not required. Even the person who held the victim down while another raped her is guilty of gang rape.