Our country is considered for higher crime rate , with a rape being the fourth in a position of most common crime which occur in our country, which is not a good remark for our nation.

Till 2012, according to report of National Crime Report Bereau (NCRB) ,annually 25,000 rape cases where reported throughout the country, which reached 30,000 yearly upto year 2020. Now this number reached to 31,000 annually according to latest government report.

Since it was noticed very frequently in the recent past years that the attendants who have a duty to take care of dead bodies in private as well as government hospitals were indulge in Sexual intercourse with dead bodies.

Definition
In our country necrophilia was not given a proper consideration as it deserves, not only in past but also in present as well.

The term necrophilia is nowhere defined in a criminal laws of India.

The term comprises of two Greek terms "nekros" (corpses or dead body) and "philios" (love for or attraction towards) . So it mean having a Sexual arousal or attraction towards the dead bodies or corpse. In simple words it means having a Sexual intercourse with dead body(s).

Necrophilia in its various dimensions:

• Necrophilia Homicide In this, the necrophilic person caused the death of or kill the living person to fullfill his desire of sexual intercourse with dead body. It was considered as a grave form of necrophilia.
• Regular Necrophilia In this, the necrophilic person does not kill any living person but take the person who was already dead, to fulfill his sexual desire with corpses.
   

Rising incidents of necrophilia:

• Our criminal laws do not contain any provision to deal with the heinous act of necrophilia.
   
• Our legal system contains some vague provisions that create loopholes in our criminal laws. Because of such loopholes, crimes like necrophilia have increased at a faster rate in recent years.
   
• Our judiciary, being bound by the laws, has to acquit the accused of necrophilia unwillingly. In the past few years, our country witnessed an increasing number of cases of necrophilia. This increase is not limited to places like mortuaries; sometimes, buried dead bodies are taken out from graves to fulfill their sexual desires, or individuals even kill living persons to fulfill their desires with corpses.
   
• Nithari case, 2006: An accused and his servant were taken into custody after around 20 girls went missing. It was confessed by the servant that he and his master killed the girls and were involved in acts of rape with the corpses of the deceased and then cooked them to consume.
   
• Palghar case, 2020: In this spine-chilling incident in Palghar, Maharashtra, a shopkeeper slit a woman's throat and raped her dead body. In his confession, the shopkeeper admitted that, being separated from his wife for a long time, he committed this act.
   
• Karimganj hospital case, 2024: In Assam, a minor girl committed suicide by consuming poison. After recovering the corpse of the deceased, police sent it to the hospital for post-mortem investigation. In the post-mortem room, a sweeper committed a rape with the corpse of the minor girl.
   

Legal rights of the dead body:

• The Hon'ble Supreme Court in the case of Parmanand Kartara v. Union of India stated that the fundamental rights under Article 21 of the Constitution of India extend to a deceased person in a limited sense, covering the disposal of the body and crimes against corpses.
   

Provision related to necrophilia:

• Section 375 IPC (now Section 63 BNS): This section defines rape as sexual intercourse with a woman against her will or consent. The term "consent" is relevant only when a person is alive, meaning Section 375 (now Section 63 BNS) does not cover the issue of necrophilia.
   
• Section 377 IPC: This section deals with offences against the order of nature. It states that any person who voluntarily has carnal intercourse with any man, woman, or animal against the order of nature is guilty of an offence. In May 2023, the Karnataka High Court in Rangaraju @ Vajapeyi v. State of Karnataka held that acts of necrophilia are neither covered under Section 375 IPC (now Section 63 BNS) nor under Section 377 IPC. The court recommended amending Section 377 or introducing a new provision to cover necrophilia, proposing imprisonment for life or up to 10 years and a fine.
   
• Neelkanth @ Neelu Nagesh v. State of Chattisgarh: In December 2024, the Chattisgarh High Court stated that rape on a dead body is horrendous but does not amount to rape under present law. The court further held that the dignity and fair treatment of a dead body should also be respected in addition to living persons.
   

Legality of necrophilia on a global stage:

• In the USA, there is no federal law that ascertains the legality of necrophilia. Each state has its own law. For example, in Alaska, it is considered a Misdemeanor (Class A), in California, it is classified as a Felony, and in Florida, it is a Felony (second degree).
• In the United Kingdom, necrophilia was penalized in 2003 after the Sexual Offence Act came into existence.
• In New Zealand, by virtue of Section 150 of the New Zealand Crime Act 1961, necrophilia is considered a criminal offence punishable by two years of imprisonment.

Conclusion
At present, in our legal system there was no any provision in a criminal laws, expressly or impliedly, which addresses the horrendous, unacceptable, undignified and unjustified act of necrophilia.

Despite of various recommendations by the judiciary to the legislature, the legislature unfortunately didn't consider the recommendation which is clearly shown in the new statutes.

So we can call the new statute as a " Revision without Vision".

Reference:

• https://www.thehindu.com/news/national/Karnataka/amend-law-to-make-necrophilia-an-offence-high-court-of-karnatka-tells-union-govt-/article66915810.ece
• https://indiankanoon.org/doc/172967614/
• https://www.drishtijudiciary.com/current-affair/rape-on-a-dead-body
• https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/necrophilia

Award Winning Article Is Written By: Mr.Nitish Singh, Student of LLB (Hons) at Banaras Hindu University.

Authentication No: JU501318202036-13-0125