Docsity
Log inSign up
Docsity
Prepare for your exams
Prepare for your exams

Study with the several resources on Docsity

Earn points to download
Earn points to download

Earn points by helping other students or get them with a premium plan

Guidelines and tips
Guidelines and tips
Sell on Docsity
Sell on Docsity
Log inSign up

Prepare for your exams

Study with the several resources on Docsity

Find documents

Prepare for your exams with the study notes shared by other students like you on Docsity

Search Store documents

The best documents sold by students who completed their studies

Search through all study resources
Docsity AINEW

Summarize your documents, ask them questions, convert them into quizzes and concept maps

Explore questions

Clear up your doubts by reading the answers to questions asked by your fellow students

Earn points to download

Earn points by helping other students or get them with a premium plan

Share documents
download point icon20 Points

For each uploaded document

Answer questions
download point icon5 Points

For each given answer (max 1 per day)

All the ways to get free points
Get points immediately

Choose a premium plan with all the points you need

Study Opportunities

Choose your next study program

Get in touch with the best universities in the world. Search through thousands of universities and official partners

Community

Ask the community

Ask the community for help and clear up your study doubts

University Rankings

Discover the best universities in your country according to Docsity users

Free resources

Our save-the-student-ebooks!

Download our free guides on studying techniques, anxiety management strategies, and thesis advice from Docsity tutors

From our blog

Exams and Study
Go to the blog

Judicial Sensitivity and Gender Equality in Bail Conditions, Summaries of Law

Sharda UniversityLaw

This case commentary discusses the Supreme Court's landmark decision in Aparna Bhatt vs. State of Madhya Pradesh, which addressed inappropriate bail conditions in crimes against women. The court emphasized judicial sensitivity, gender equality, and avoiding stereotypes. The commentary highlights key points, including protecting complainants, prohibiting contact, and informing them of bail. It also discusses the court's recommendations for gender sensitization training and curricula to promote a more equitable judicial approach.

Typology: Summaries

2022/2023

Uploaded on 11/26/2022

aishwarya-moitra
aishwarya-moitra 🇮🇳

5 documents

1 / 7

Toggle sidebar

This page cannot be seen from the preview

Don't miss anything!

bg1
CASE COMMENTARY
CASE NAME: Aparna Bhatt vs. State of Madhya Pradesh (2021 SCC OnLine SC 230)
FACTS OF THE CASE
1. On 20 April 2020 at about 2.30 a.m., the accused-applicant, a neighbor of the
complainant, entered her house and caught hold of the Sarda Bai's hand (hereafter
“Complainant”), and allegedly attempted to harass her sexually.
2. The case was investigated, and a charge sheet was filed. The accused filed an application
under Section 438 of Code of Criminal Procedure, 1973 (hereafter “CrPC”) seeking pre-
arrest bail. The High Court, by the order, even while granting bail to the applicant
imposed the following conditions:
a. The applicant along with his wife shall visit the house of the complainant with Rakhi
thread/band on 3 August 2020 at 11:00 a.m. with a box of sweets and request the
complainant to tie the Rakhi band to him with the promise to protect her to the best of
his ability for all times to come.
b. He shall also tender Rs. 11,000/- to the complainant as a customary ritual usually
offered by the brothers to sisters on such occasion and shall also seek her blessings.
The applicant shall also tender Rs. 5,000/- to the son of the complainant, i.e., Vishal
for purchase of clothes and sweets.
c. The applicant shall obtain photographs and receipts of payment made to the
complainant and her son, and the same shall be filed through the counsel for placing
the same on record of this case before this Registry. The aforesaid deposit of amount
shall not influence the pending trial but is only for enlargement of the applicant on
bail.
3. Advocate Aparna Bhat and eight other lawyers filed the appeal against the decision
issued by the Madhya Pradesh High Court on July 30.
pf3
pf4
pf5

Partial preview of the text

Download Judicial Sensitivity and Gender Equality in Bail Conditions and more Summaries Law in PDF only on Docsity!

CASE COMMENTARY

CASE NAME: Aparna Bhatt vs. State of Madhya Pradesh (2021 SCC OnLine SC 230) FACTS OF THE CASE

  1. On 20 April 2020 at about 2.30 a.m., the accused-applicant, a neighbor of the complainant, entered her house and caught hold of the Sarda Bai's hand (hereafter “Complainant”), and allegedly attempted to harass her sexually.
  2. The case was investigated, and a charge sheet was filed. The accused filed an application under Section 438 of Code of Criminal Procedure, 1973 (hereafter “CrPC”) seeking pre- arrest bail. The High Court, by the order, even while granting bail to the applicant imposed the following conditions: a. The applicant along with his wife shall visit the house of the complainant with Rakhi thread/band on 3 August 2020 at 11:00 a.m. with a box of sweets and request the complainant to tie the Rakhi band to him with the promise to protect her to the best of his ability for all times to come. b. He shall also tender Rs. 11,000/- to the complainant as a customary ritual usually offered by the brothers to sisters on such occasion and shall also seek her blessings. The applicant shall also tender Rs. 5,000/- to the son of the complainant, i.e., Vishal for purchase of clothes and sweets. c. The applicant shall obtain photographs and receipts of payment made to the complainant and her son, and the same shall be filed through the counsel for placing the same on record of this case before this Registry. The aforesaid deposit of amount shall not influence the pending trial but is only for enlargement of the applicant on bail.
  3. Advocate Aparna Bhat and eight other lawyers filed the appeal against the decision issued by the Madhya Pradesh High Court on July 30.

ISSUES RAISED

  1. Whether such bail conditions imposed by the courts are acceptable or not and how they can impact society.
  2. Whether the court’s encouragement to compromises between the accused and the victim is justified.
  3. The responsibility of the judicial organ with respect to spreading gender sensitization and being itself sensitive to the honor and dignity of women has also been raised. CONTENTIONS
  4. The appellants submit that the expressions “in the interest of justice”, “such other conditions court considers necessary” and “as it may think fit” as provided in the bare text of the Section 437(3)(c) as well as Section 438(2)(iv) of the CrPC, give discretion to the Courts to impose such other conditions as may be required in the facts of a particular case, but those conditions have to be in consonance with the other conditions in the provisions, the purpose of granting bail and no other consideration.
  5. It was submitted that under sections 437(2) and 438, the power to impose conditions have been expressed in very wide terms by using the phrase “any condition.”
  6. Recently, High Courts while granting bail under these sections have started imposing irrelevant conditions. The Intervenors have annexed around twenty-three orders in which such conditions for bail were imposed.
  7. They argue that the conditions that can be imposed under the law are clearly laid down by the Supreme Court in the case of Munish Bhasin v. State^1 and reiterated in Parvez Noordin Lokhandwalla v. State of Maharashtra^2. (^1) AIR 2009 4 SCC 2072 (^2) 2020 SCC OnLine SC 230

ii. Bail conditions must seek to protect the complainant from any harassment by the accused. iii. Where considered necessary, the complainant/prosecutrix may be heard on whether there is any peculiar circumstance which may require additional conditions for her protection. iv. Wherever bail is granted, the complainant may immediately be informed that the accused has been granted bail. v. Bail conditions must be free from stereotypical or patriarchal notions on women and their place in society and must strictly be in accordance with the requirements of the CrPC. vi. The Courts while adjudicating a case, should not suggest or entertain any notions (or encourage any step) towards compromises between the prosecutrix and the accused to get married, as it is beyond their powers and jurisdiction.

  1. On gender equality and gender sensitization, accordingly, he submitted that the foremost aspect to facilitate a gender sensitive approach, is to train judges to exercise their discretion and avoid the use of gender-based stereotypes while deciding cases pertaining to sexual offences. Secondly, judges should have sensitivity to the concerns of the survivor of sexual offences.
  2. It was pointed out that the following stereotypes are often encountered during judicial decision-making and should be avoided: i. Women are physically weak. ii. Women cannot make decisions on their own. iii. Men are the head of the household and must make all the decisions related to family. iv. Women should be submissive and obedient. v. Good women are sexually chaste.

vi. Every woman wants to be a mother. vii. Women should be the ones in charge of their children. viii. Being alone at night or wearing certain clothes make women responsible for being attacked. ix. Women are emotional and often overreact or dramatize hence it is necessary to corroborate their testimony. x. Testimonial evidence provided by women who are sexually active may be suspected when assessing “consent” in sexual offence cases. xi. Lack of evidence of physical harm in sexual offense case means consent was given.

  1. Justice Bhat submitted that training for gender sensitization for judges at all levels of the judiciary should mandatorily be conducted at regular intervals by the National Judicial Academy and State Judicial Academies.
  2. He emphasized that any directions towards gender sensitization should include judges of all levels of the judiciary. Further, the counsel urged that courses on gender sensitization should be included in the curriculum of law schools, and the All-India Bar Exam should include questions on gender sensitization as well.
  3. In addition to this, he recommended that a detailed curriculum may be prepared with the help of subject matter experts by each High Court, to be a part of the syllabus for the Judicial Services Exams and training for inducted judges.
  4. Using Rakhi tying as a condition for bail, transforms a molester into a brother, by a judicial mandate. This is wholly unacceptable and has the effect of diluting and eroding the offence of sexual harassment. The act perpetrated on the survivor constitutes an offence in law and is not a minor transgression that can be remedied by way of an apology, rendering community service, tying a Rakhi, or presenting a gift to the survivor, or even promising to marry her.

vi. Sensitivity should be always displayed by judges, who should ensure that there is no traumatization of the prosecutrix, during the proceedings, or anything said during the arguments. vii. Judges especially should not use any words, spoken or written, that would undermine or shake the confidence of the survivor in the fairness or impartiality of the court. DEFECTS OF LAW

  1. This decision has corrected several flaws in the legislation concerning the treatment of victims of sexual assault and other sexual offences.
  2. Therefore, I do not see any issues with the decision. This judgement is progressive and demonstrates the evolution of a developing society. INFERENCE Indian culture has always been held responsible for sexual assault victims. Women have frequently been interrogated about their behavior, clothing preferences, moods, and plans to leave their houses. By questioning the victim during trials, judges have frequently encouraged this practice by stoking stereotypes about behaviors and endangering the integrity of the proceedings. The Supreme Court's outright condemnation of such court practices has rekindled hope for judicial reform. Legal professionals should benefit from gender sensitization training to raise their awareness of the problem. The Supreme Court has established a significant precedent for subsequent courts to follow when handling sexual assault victims by rendering this decision. For its large audience, discussing the shortcomings of a patriarchal culture set a precedent. This will be regarded as a significant step towards the empowerment of women. It is hoped that if the standards are upheld, future judicial orders will not contain unreasonable restrictions of this nature. Aishwarya Moitra Sharda University, BBA LLB 5th^ Year