Kasaragod: Dairy farmer Rajan's cow was almost sexually assaulted by an unidentified person in Chandera in Kasaragod Sunday afternoon. But police do not have a relevant section to charge the suspect with attempted beastality or register an FIR under the new Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita that replaced the Indian Penal Code (IPC) of 1860 on July 1. "We are exploring options to book him (the suspect) under some other section," said an officer of Chandera Police.

According to Rajan's complaint, he staked his cow in the pasture to graze Sunday afternoon. After some time, he saw the cow missing and searched for it. After crossing the railway tracks near Chandera station, he saw some movement behind the bushes and rushed to the spot. He saw a shirtless man in his late 30s near his cow. Seeing him, the man fled from the scene, said Rajan's complaint.

The dairy farmer saw his cow on the ground with its legs and tail tied to the nose rope. He immediately called in the government veterinary surgeon who examined the cow and found no injuries. Rajan later filed a complaint with Chandera Police.

The officer quoted above said the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita did not have a provision equivalent to Section 377 in IPC. "In this case, the complaint was an attempt to have intercourse with the animal. Even IPC did not have sections that could be invoked in the case of an attempt to rape an animal," he said. "BNS should have had provisions for both crimes. It is a shortcoming," he said. He, however, said if the cow's private parts were injured or mutilated, there were provisions to register an FIR.

According to Section 377 of IPC, "whoever voluntarily has carnal intercourse against the order of nature with any man, woman or animal, shall be punished with 1[imprisonment for life], or with imprisonment of either description for a term which may extend to ten years, and shall also be liable to fine.”

In the case of Navtej Johar vs the Union of India in 2018, the Supreme Court decriminalised consensual same-sex relationships by reading down Section 377 of the Indian Penal Code, said Adv Prakash Ammannayya, a criminal lawyer and public prosecutor for sex crimes against children. "But sexual assault of men and transpeople by using force or threatening is still an offence, and BNS should have had provisions for it. And in the case of animals, there is no question of consent," he said.

According to the Delhi-based Federation of Indian Animal Protection Organisation (FIAP), every eighth case of violence against animals is sexual assault or rape. "When crimes against animals already go unnoticed and unpunished, not having a law against animal sexual assault will have devastating consequences," it said in its Instagram post.

It is deeply concerning that section 377 of the Indian Penal Code, 1860, that criminalised sexual abuse of animals has been omitted from the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, 2023, said Adv Mishi Aggarwal, specialist, cruelty response, Humane Society International. "Unfortunately, we see frequent reports of bestiality/ sexual abuse of animals. It is crucial to have strong laws in place for such offenses; heinous offences against animals that we know can potentially escalate to heinous offences against other beings," she said.

Several top lawyers in Kasaragod said they were not aware that BNS did not address beastality and rape of men and transpeople.