New Delhi, February 18 – The Supreme Court has directed the National Judicial Academy to form a committee of experts to draft guidelines for judges dealing with cases involving sexual offenses, emphasizing the need to instill sensitivity in the judicial approach.
The top court, through its Director, Justice (Retired) Aniruddha Bose, asked the Bhopal-based academy to prepare a comprehensive report on "Developing Guidelines to Instill Sensitivity and Compassion in Judges and Judicial Processes in the Context of Sexual Offences and Other Vulnerable Cases."
In an order dated February 10, a bench led by Chief Justice Surya Kant and comprising Justices Joymalya Bagchi and N V Anjaria stated that various steps have been taken by constitutional courts, but these efforts have not yielded the desired results.
"Given this, we hesitate to undertake a fresh and unguided attempt to formulate guidelines without a thorough understanding of previous endeavors, the practical outcomes of such efforts, and the varying challenges faced by victims and complainants in similar sensitive cases," the bench said.
The bench further stated, "This effort should also incorporate the valuable opinions and suggestions of domain experts, which, based on our judicial experience, do not naturally emerge from legal proceedings."
The Supreme Court directed the committee to consider previous measures undertaken by either the judicial or administrative side.
"Furthermore, after considering these previous endeavors and the diverse experiences of stakeholders across the judicial system, prepare comprehensive recommendations," the bench said.
The recommendations should be in the form of "Draft Guidelines for the Approach of Judges and the Judicial System When Dealing with Cases of Sexual Offences and Other Similarly Sensitive Occurrences Involving Vulnerable Victims, Complainants, and/or Witnesses," the bench added.
The apex court also emphasized the importance of linguistic diversity, stating that "There are various offensive words and expressions, the use of which ordinarily constitutes an offense under our penal laws, but these are openly used by members of our society in local dialects, ostensibly due to a lack of understanding of their offensive nature."
"It would be highly appreciated if the Committee can identify and compile such words/expressions from different languages, ensuring they are not overlooked, empowering complainants/victims to provide a better and more complete account of their trauma," the bench said.
The Supreme Court stressed that the primary beneficiaries of these guidelines are victims/complainants, primarily children, young women, and vulnerable sections of society.
"Therefore, the Committee should ensure that the draft guidelines are designed to be easily understood and utilized by these individuals, regardless of their background or means," the bench said.
"To this end, we recommend that the Committee of Experts prepare the entire report, and at the very least, the draft guidelines, in simple language that is comprehensible to laypersons, whose interests the guidelines aim to protect. We expect the guidelines to avoid complex expressions from foreign languages and jurisdictions," the bench added.
The committee of experts is authorized to seek assistance from other experts, such as linguists, prosecutors, lawyers, social scientists, and counselors, as deemed necessary.
These directions came in the context of a suo motu plea in which the Allahabad High Court had ruled that mere grabbing of a breast and pulling the string of a "pyjama" does not constitute rape.
The Supreme Court overturned this high court order, stating, "Given these facts, we cannot agree with the high court's finding that the allegations only constitute preparation, but not an attempt, towards committing the offence of rape."
The bench concluded, "The actions of the accused clearly and inevitably lead us to conclude that, prima facie, a case for invoking the provisions of attempt to commit rape has been made out by the complainant and the prosecution. Therefore, the impugned judgment is liable to be set aside due to the erroneous application of established principles of criminal jurisprudence."
The bench emphasized that no judge or judgment should be inconsiderate of the factual realities of a litigant and their vulnerabilities when approaching a court of law.
"Our decisions, as participants in the legal process, from laying down procedures that citizens must face to the final judgment in any case, must reflect the ethos of compassion, humanity, and understanding, which are essential for creating a fair and effective justice system," the bench added.
