The concept of ‘Rape’ as a properly defined offence was first introduced in the Indian Penal Code of 1860 drafted by Lord Macaulay and since then it has continuously been evolving through various Criminal Law Amendment Acts which has modified the concept to meet the changing needs of society, but is that change sufficient enough to effectively deal with the persistent problem of rise in the number of sexual offences in the last few decades? Whether current provisions relating to rape under Indian criminal law adequate? If not then who is responsible and what further change is required?

The objective of this research paper is to answer all these questions through a comparative analysis of the original section 375 and major criminal law amendments which modified the original provision and the circumstances which led to such amendments, tracing the shortcomings and ambiguities in the existing laws relating to rape and finally to ascertain steps that are needed to be taken to overcome the inadequacy of current provisions relating to rape.

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