A set of recent incidents involving gruesome rapes of women across the country has yet again raised several questions about Indian society and judiciary. We at The Quint believe that a rape survivor’s life doesn’t end when she is raped. And that even if our institutions - law, the judiciary, the hospitals - are failing a rape survivor, we as a society need to step up. And keep the fight going. We are publishing this article originally published on 25 June 2015 from The Quint’s archives as part of our #KeepFighting campaign.
Some judgements deserve scorn for judges’ “astute” observations and commentary, while others invite indignant contempt for gross illegalities and grave travesty of justice committed in the name of exercise of judicial discretion.
Judges of the high courts and Supreme Court are vested with wide discretionary powers which haven’t been defined by the Constitution. But latitude isn’t the same as a carte blanche for passing orders and judgements which cause irreparable harm and bring immeasurable agony to those who have to bear the brunt.
Justice P Devadass’ June 18 Order, granting bail to a rape convict and directing him and his victim to go for mediation, is one such ruling. The most obvious flaw is sending a rape case for “settlement” and “resolution” through one of the methods provided under ADR (alternative dispute resolution) is bereft of any legal authority. No statutory provision allows this and there isn’t any precedent either.
Errors Galore
The second grave error is that the judge has misinterpreted and misquoted judgements to substantiate his stance which, to be honest, is plainly risible. One doesn’t know whether this was deliberate, but it is certain that it also exposes ignorance of the law.