India, Oct. 17 -- The Patna High Court has held that lying on a woman and covering her mouth, in the absence of any act directed towards penetration, does not amount to an attempt to commit rape if the evidence fails to establish that the accused had moved beyond the stage of preparation, Live Law reported.

The ruling came from a single-judge bench of Justice Sandeep Kumar, which heard a challenge to the judgment of conviction dated July 29, 2013, and the sentencing order dated August 1, 2013.

The complainant, a widow staying with her children, was asleep in her house at 10 am on February 8, 2010, when the appellant, a man, allegedly entered the premises, put out the lamp, lay on top of her and covered her mouth, according to the prosec...