"The nature of the offense needs to be carefully considered, whether it constitutes rape or an attempt to commit rape", says Delhi High Court.

NEW DELHI: Upholding a man's conviction for attempting to rape a seven-year-old girl child, the Delhi High Court observed, "It is essential to acknowledge that even minimal penetration suffices to establish sexual intercourse." "...The nature of the offense needs to be carefully considered, whether it constitutes rape or an attempt to commit rape. It is essential to acknowledge that even minimal penetration is sufficient to establish sexual intercourse,' Justice Swarna Kanta Sharma noted in a recent order. As per the allegations in the case, the convicted man, a neighbour had taken the seven-year-old girl along with her younger sister to a room and forcibly established physical relations with her while confining her in a room and making the younger child wait outside. The court noted that it is clear that although rape has been ruled out because there has been no penetration, there has been an attempt of rape because the appellant tried to penetrate, causing tenderness, because of which the victim had felt pain. The court's observation came after the convicted man moved an appeal before the high court against the trial court order which sentenced him to undergo rigorous imprisonment for five years and to pay a fine of Rs. 5,000/- and in default of the fine, to further undergo simple imprisonment for six months. The appellant was also convicted under Section 342 IPC and, for the same, he was sentenced to undergo rigorous imprisonment for one year.