Indian Penal Code, 1860
Section 376A
repealedPunishment for causing death or resulting in persistent vegetative state of victim
Whoever, commits an offence punishable under sub-section (1) or sub-section (2) of section 376 and in the course of such commission inflicts an injury which causes the death1 of the woman or causes the woman to be in a persistent vegetative state, shall be punished with rigorous imprisonment for a term which shall not be less than twenty years, but which may extend to imprisonment for life, which shall mean imprisonment for the remainder of that person’s natural life, or with death.
Why this exists
This section was introduced in 2013 to specifically address the most horrific outcomes of rape, where the assault results in the victim's death or permanent, severe incapacitation, directly responding to public outrage after the 2012 Delhi gang rape case in which the victim died from her injuries. It reflects the view that such extreme harm demands the harshest available punishment, including the possibility of the death penalty. The Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, 2023 retains a comparable provision for rape resulting in death or a persistent vegetative state.
How courts read it
Courts have applied this section in the most serious rape cases involving fatal or catastrophic injuries, treating the death penalty as reserved for the 'rarest of rare' cases while more commonly imposing life imprisonment, consistent with the broader constitutional principle that capital punishment must be exceptional.