Woman can be charged with gang rape for facilitating the crime: Delhi High Court

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The Delhi High Court on Thursday (October 16, 2026) said that a woman can be charged with the offence of gang rape even if she herself has not committed the physical act but facilitated the victim’s rape.

Justice Anup Jairam Bhambhani passed the judgment while dismissing a woman’s plea challenging the framing of charges against her for allegedly forcing her minor daughter to have sexual relations with a co-accused.

Answering whether a woman can be charged with gang rape under Section 376D of the Indian Penal Code (IPC) or Section 70 of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS), the court said, “...there is no basis to hold that a woman cannot be charged with the offence of gang rape under section 376D IPC and section 70 BNS”.

Interpreting Section 70 of the BNS, which deals with gang rape, the court opined the use of the phrase “deemed to have committed the offence of rape” is clearly reflective of the legislative intent that, for being liable to be charged with the offence of ‘gang rape’, every person who constitutes a group or acts in furtherance of a common intention need not have individually committed the offence of rape.

The court clarified that its ruling does not mean a woman acting alone can be charged with gang rape. It also said it was not expressing any opinion on whether the word “man” in the post-2013 section 375 IPC or section 63 BNS is gender-neutral or not.

The case arose from an FIR registered at Delhi’s Bhalswa Dairy police station in July 2024.

According to the prosecution’s case, the minor girl alleged that her mother threatened her and forced her to have sexual relations with the other accused. She also alleged that the assaults took place repeatedly between December 2023 and July 2024.

The victim said that when she was threatened again by her mother to have sexual relations with the other accused, she left her home in July 2024.

The petitioner woman’s counsel argued that the definition of rape under Section 63 of the BNS specifically refers to a man as the perpetrator and, therefore, a woman could not be prosecuted for gang rape.

The High Court dismissed the plea challenging the framing of charges against the woman and upheld the trial court’s January 17, 2025 order.

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