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"Remark Smacks Of Very Patriarchal Way Of Looking At Things": Justice Deepak Gupta On CJI Asking Rape Accused If He Would Marry Victim
Mehal Jain
3 March 2021 4:09 PM GMT
"Unfortunately, the remark smacks of a very patriarchal way of looking at things, it was gender insensitive", said Justice Deepak Gupta in context of CJI S. A. Bobde asking a 23-year old man, who stands accused of raping a minor girl when she was aged around 16 years, whether he will marry her.The retired Supreme Court judge was expressing his opinion in an interview with veteran...
"Unfortunately, the remark smacks of a very patriarchal way of looking at things, it was gender insensitive", said Justice Deepak Gupta in context of CJI S. A. Bobde asking a 23-year old man, who stands accused of raping a minor girl when she was aged around 16 years, whether he will marry her.
The retired Supreme Court judge was expressing his opinion in an interview with veteran journalist Barkha Dutt over the much-talked about episode from Monday when a bench headed by the Chief Justice of India was hearing a special leave petition filed by the man, who is now a government servant in Maharashtra, against an order of the Bombay High Court which cancelled his anticipatory bail.
Justice Gupta was also asked about another instance from the same day from the CJI's court, where CJ Bobde had, in a matter pertaining to the quashing of an FIR alleging rape due to false promise of marriage, inquired, "When two people are living as husband and wife, however brutal the husband is, can the act of sexual intercourse between them be called rape?". The bench had proceeded to stay the petitioner's arrest for 8 weeks in the matter.
"I am just visualising. Probably it was argued that they were in love and hence, the sex was consensual. Even if we assume that, if you want to ask someone, you ask the woman if she is willing to marry him. You do not ask the rapist if he is married willing to marry the victim. It was not called for and it was very. very insensitive", commented Justice Gupta.
As regards what recourse does one have if such comments are made at the behest of the CJI himself, considering that the courts are the "last bastion" and that the highest that one can go is to the Chief Justice of India, Justice Gupta remarked, "I can't say anything more than what I have said. We have to be very careful. Now that social media is inside the courtroom, everything you say is tweeted. So judges, who used to be a little trigger-happy in what they wanted to say, now have to be careful in what they say. The remark was probably not meant in the way it was said. There should have been an immediate clarification that we don't want to force you or something"
However, Justice Gupta proceeded to add, "But even then, it should not have been said. The remark and the manner in which it was said…courts should not give the impression of gender bias and patriarchy"
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