Asif Khattak
In Pakistan, there are dozens of penal laws covering various aspects of crime, yet penal laws are silent in equitably dealing with necrophilia — an act of sexual intercourse with a dead body.
On August 15, 2021, some unknown men dug out the corpse of a freshly-buried teenage girl and raped it in Thatta. On March 01, 2020, a man was arrested for having sexual intercourse with a women’s dead body at Joiya Sharif village of Okara. Similarly, in Karachi, a man was arrested for rape with forty-eight dead bodies, and numerous other cases have been reported.
This inhumane act has been increasing rapidly in the last two decades. Thus, countries have legislated for it and prescribed severe punishments. Regrettably, In Pakistan, there is no adequate legislation for the discussed crime. However, one general provision of our centuries-old law, section 297 (trespassing on burial places, etc.) of the Pakistan Penal Code, 1860 (PPC), remotely covers necrophilia and provides a very minimal punishment.
The provision says, “whoever, with the intention of wounding the feelings of any person, or of insulting the religion of any person, or with the knowledge that the feelings of any person are likely to be wounded, or that the religion of any person is likely to be insulted thereby, commits any trespass in any place of worship or on any place of sculpture, or any place set apart for the performance of funeral rites or as a depository for the remains of the dead, or offers any indignity to any human corpse or causes disturbance to any persons assembled for the performance of funeral ceremonies, shall be punished with imprisonment of either description for a term which may extend to one year, or with fine, or with both” after perusal of the ibid provision, a prudent mind would not accept one-year imprisonment for such a heinous crime as punishment is not proportionate to the gravity of the crime.
Moreover, some believe that section 375, 376 (Rape), and section 377 (unnatural offense) of PPC, which provides severe punishment, are also applicable to necrophilia. But, the application of these provisions in the case of necrophilia can best be answered by judicial interpretation, which is yet not available in our country.
However, in May 2023, the constitutional court of our neighbouring country, the Karnataka High Court, interpreted these very sections of the Indian Penal Code (IPC) in the “Rangaraju v. State” case, wherein it held that intercourse with a dead body does not come under the purview of sections 375 and 377 of IPC, hence not applicable to necrophilia. In a persuasive view of the judgment, the ibid provisions of the PPC also seem inapplicable in the case of necrophilia in Pakistan.
After Rangaraju’s case, the Indian central government drafted a bill regarding necrophilia that could soon become law. In South Africa, section 14 of the Criminal Law Amendment Act, 2007 prohibits Necrophilia. UK has already criminalized it under section 70 of the UK’s sexual offense act 2003. Similarly, in Canada, section 182 of the Canadian Criminal Code criminalizes necrophilia, and many other countries have legislated on this subject and made it a severely punishable offense.
Taking inspiration from these countries, our parliament should consider the inclusion of specific offense of necrophilia in the criminal law of Pakistan. Because, at present, existing provisions are not adequately covering the act amounting to necrophilia. As a solution, two amendments can be suggested in the PPC: either to insert the word ‘’dead body’’ in section 375 and 377 or to add a separate penal provision specifically dealing necrophilia.
The writer is a lawyer.
