A charge of outraging the modesty of a woman was added to the case against MLA Jose Thettayil, who along with his son was accused of raping a woman. The police recently added Section 354 of the IPC, which deals with assaulting a woman with intent to outrage her modesty, to the existing charge of Section 376, punishment for rape.
A police officer part of the investigation said the charge had been evident from the complainant’s statement, but had been left out by the officers who initially registered the case. “We added it later just to make sure the charge was not missed. Also, according to her statement there were two instances of assault – one where she was groped and another where she was raped,” said the officer. The police also removed Section 34, for common intention, from the charges.
The High Court of Kerala had subsequently stayed the proceedings against Mr. Thettayil.
