New Delhi, Oct. 16 -- The Delhi High Court has held that a woman can be charged with gang rape even if she did not personally commit the act of rape, provided she acted in furtherance of a common intention to have the offence committed. Justice Anup Jairam Bhambhani observed that there was no rationale for interpreting the phrase "one or more persons constituting a group" in the provision on gang rape as referring exclusively to men. The term "persons", the court said, must be interpreted in a gender-neutral manner. The court, however, clarified that a woman cannot be charged with gang rape acting alone, as this would not conform to the statutory definition of rape under Section 375 of the Indian Penal Code (IPC) and Section 63 of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS). The court made the observations while dismissing a petition filed by a woman challenging a trial court order framing charges against her under provisions of the BNS and the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (Pocso) Act in a case involving the alleged sexual assault of her minor daughter. The court said there was no basis to hold that a woman could not be charged with gang rape under Section 376D of the IPC or Section 70 of the BNS. The case arose from an FIR filed by the woman in July 2024, alleging that her daughter had been kidnapped. The minor alleged her mother had threatened that the accused would kill her if she refused to have sexual relations with him, forced her into such relations and was present during the sexual assault. The trial court, on January 17, 2025, framed charges against the woman under Sections 70(2) (gang rape of a woman under 18 years of age), 351(3) (criminal intimidation) and 64(2)(m) (aggravated rape) of BNS, as well as Section 6 of Pocso Act. Challenging the order, the woman argued that only a man could commit rape and that gang rape could therefore be committed only by a group of men....