Where a woman is raped by one or more persons constituting a group, or acting in furtherance of a common intention, each person is deemed to have committed rape and is punished individually — rigorous imprisonment of not less than 20 years, extendable to life imprisonment, plus a fine payable to the victim.
Where the victim is under 18, the punishment for each person rises to life imprisonment or death.
- Every participant faces the full individual punishment — there's no dilution of liability just because multiple people were involved.
The law deliberately does not let group involvement reduce individual responsibility — each person in the group is treated as if they alone committed the offence.
Keep exploring
Rape — Definition
This is the foundational definition; the punishment provisions (ordinary, aggravated, and gang rape) build on top of it.
Punishment for Rape, Including of a Minor
The severity of the minimum sentence itself signals how seriously the law treats offences against minors specifically — this sits alongside the POCSO Act, which also applies to offences against children.
This is a plain-English summary, not verbatim statutory text. Adhikar is an independent citizen-awareness platform, not a Government of India website. Always verify against the bare Act (legislative.gov.in) or a qualified advocate before relying on this for an actual legal situation.