Impermissible for judges to pass ‘filmi’ orders: AG tells SC

Impermissible for judges to pass ‘filmi’ orders: AG tells SC

‘Gender Sensitisation Of Judicial Officers Urgently Needed’

Dhananjay.Mahapatra@timesgroup.com

03.11.2020 

New Delhi: Attorney general K K Venugopal on Monday told the Supreme Court that a Madhya Pradesh high court judge’s decision to grant bail to a person accused of outraging the modesty of a woman on the condition that he gets a rakhi tied by her was nothing but a script straight out of a Bollywood film which had no sanctity in criminal law jurisprudence.

“The judge seems to have gotten carried away by the script of a film. Judges, while dealing with crimes against women, need to restrict themselves to the confines of criminal laws and not resort to dramatic orders. Gender sensitisation of judges in the high courts and trial courts are the need of the day. State judicial academies can be asked to regularly hold lectures on this issue to sensitise them. They must know what is permissible and what is not,” Venugopal said.

The AG was responding to a PIL filed by social activists led by advocate Aparna Bhat, who questioned the condition of bail imposed by the Indore bench of Madhya Pradesh HC. Appearing for the petitioners, senior advocate Sanjay Parikh told a bench of Justices A M Khanwilkar, Dinesh Maheshwari and Sanjiv Khanna that such comments from constitutional courts tended to trivialise crimes against women.

The petition said, “Observations impugned herein are antithetical to the law and principles that govern India and may encourage other HCs as well as trial courts that fall within the jurisdiction of the MP HC to pass such regressive orders. The bail condition in question amounts to further victimisation of the survivor in her own house. In the context of Raksha Bandhan being a festival of guardianship between brothers and sisters, the said bail condition amounts to gross trivialisation of the trauma suffered by the complainant in the present case.”

The Justice Khanwilkarled bench asked the AG to submit a comprehensive note detailing suggestions for gender sensitisation of HC and trial court judges. It asked the petitioners and intervenors to also submit compact notes on this issue. The bench listed the matter for further hearing on November 297 and said, “Proper orders will be passed.”

Full report on www.toi.in

Times View

Every modern and progressive state has certain key markers. Gender sensitivity is one of them. Lack of understanding on the subject could lead to gender-biased decision-making. It is indeed true that there is a pressing need to sensitise the lower reaches of the judiciary to these issues. The recognition of this reality is welcome.

NO SANCTITY: Attorney general K K Venugopal