LI NETWORK
Attorney General (AG) KK Venugopal stated that bringing improvement in cases of sexual violence and non-empathetic approaches of judges can change by enlarging the number of female judges in the judiciary.
Improving the representation of women in the judiciary could also go a long way towards a more balanced and empathetic approach in cases involving sexual violence.
For instance, the Supreme Court of India currently has only 2 women judges, as against a sanctioned strength of 34 judges.
“There has never been a female Chief Justice of India,” the AG said in his written submissions.
Advocate Aparna Bhat, along with other female lawyers, filed a petition in the Supreme Court, objecting to the judgments from the High Courts in cases of sexual violence that it would lead to the trivialization of despicable offence.
The petition said:
“There is a strong likelihood that such observations and directions may result in normalizing what is essentially a crime and has been recognized to be so by the law.”
KK Venugopal has suggested some measures about bringing improvement in judiciary:
1. Collect information about the number of judges in the lower judiciary
2. Collect information about the number of women judges in tribunals
3. Gather information about the senior designates by all High Courts
4. More representation of women at all levels of the judiciary
“The court as part of its adjudication during any stage of the trial process should not seek to minimise the magnitude of the crime by suggesting a compromise for the victim and the accused to get married, as this is beyond the powers and jurisdiction of the Court,” he further stated.
Lastly, AG said, “Equally, the All India Bar Examination does not contain even a single question or section relating to gender sensitization. The Bar Council of India may take necessary steps in this regard.”
Venugopal replied to a plea challenging the bail conditions imposed by the High Court of Madhya Pradesh.
The High Court had asked the accused to get a Rakhi tied by the victim as a condition for bail.