Necrophilia in India: Psychological Perspectives and Emerging Legal Challenges

Necrophilia, a rare and complex paraphilic disorder, involves a persistent sexual attraction to corpses, raising significant psychological, ethical, and legal concerns. Despite its serious ethical and constitutional implications, Indian criminal law does not explicitly criminalize necrophilia, resulting in doctrinal and prosecutorial ambiguity. In India, there is no clear legal framework to criminalize necrophilia, which leaves a gap in addressing this issue. The present study aims to explore the need for specific legal provisions in India and to delve into the psychological roots of necrophilia, examining its origins, causes, motivations, and broader impacts. A narrative literature review was conducted using databases such as Google Scholar, PubMed, ResearchGate, Springer, and ScienceDirect. Twenty review articles and three case reports published between 2010 and 2024 were included in the study. Findings indicate significant deficiencies in the Indian legal framework regarding the criminalization of necrophilia. Comparative analysis revealed that several countries explicitly criminalize sexual activity with corpses. Psychological literature suggests multifactorial etiological pathways involving psychodynamic, behavioral, attachment-related, and neurobiological mechanisms. Explicit statutory criminalization, forensic investigation protocols, and psychiatric assessment mechanisms are urgently required to safeguard posthumous dignity and improve medico-legal responses.