Supreme Court Rejects Karnataka Govt's Plea to Classify Necrophilia as Rape, Calls for Legal Reform

The Supreme Court rejected Karnataka’s plea to classify necrophilia as rape under Section 376 IPC, stating that Indian law does not recognise sexual acts on a dead body as an offence.

The Karnataka High Court had acquitted an accused of rape charges for committing sexual acts on a murder victim's corpse but upheld his murder conviction.

The High Court emphasised that Sections 375 and 377 IPC do not apply to corpses and urged Parliament to introduce laws penalising necrophilia, similar to jurisdictions like the UK and Canada.

The Supreme Court upheld this ruling, emphasising the need for legislative action to protect the dignity of the dead.