Target judicial patriarchy, not the judge

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Target judicial patriarchy, not the judge

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• Most dangerous for women: A Thomson Reuters Foundation survey in 2018 rated India as the most dangerous country for women. The NCRB reports also indicate large no. of crimes of all kinds against women, totally 4 lakh in 2019. (88 rapes per day)
• Rape and marriage: A huge controversy erupted in Feb 2021 when the Chief Justice of Supreme Court granted bail to a govt. servant accused of having repeatedly raped (and tortured) a minor girl of 16 years. Reports suggested he asked the accused if he'd marry that girl. He also said "we are not forcing you to marry the victim". But the worry is - rape is not a compoundable offence, and no party can compromise any way in rape cases!
• Seeking apology: It would seem distasteful to seek an apology from the CJI of SC, but the CJ of Suth Africa was recently forced to apologise in a matter. 
• Real problem: Such insensitive words flow freely because the judiciary is patriarchal in nature, just like the Indian society. Gender insensitivity is the norm. Many judges have made extremely wrong statements over the years. 
• Marital rape: In another case, the CJI granted bail to a man who had injured the private parts of this wife (whom he married at a temple). The CJI refused to accept that there is anything called marital rape, exactly as the BJP govt. claimed in 2017 in an affidavit in the Delhi High Court. RSS opposes marital rape as a crime.
• What Verma Committee 2013 said: It had said that rape is not an infringement of woman's chastity or virginity. It is a violation of bodily integrity and sexual autonomy. Marriage cannot mean permanent loss of that autonomy. Rape is rape whether in marriage or out of it.
• Multiple dangerous cases: Across various High Courts of India, over the years, very wrong precedents have been set by the judges, where men accused of molestation and rape enjoyed the benefits flowing from patriarchy. In one case, Madras HC granted bail to accused so he could mediate with the victim! SC cancelled it.
• Bhanwari Devi case, 1992: She was gang-raped in 1992, and verdict came in 1995. The Rajasthan court said that a higher caste man is pure and could not raped her due to impurity reasons. It added more horrible logics too. Till date, the appeal against that decision isn't disposed of.
• Non-rape cases: Patriarchy continues in non-rape cases too. The Guwahati HC in 2020 allowed divorce on grounds of the woman not applying sindoor and wearing bangles! Earlier, the Madras HC said that divorcees, if they want alimony, must maintain sexual purity. Even a man like M Katju said in 2010 that a second Hindu wife is a "mistress and keep" and no maintenance is payable.
• SC in divorce case: The HC had ruled in favour of the wife, and SC reversed the decision. Its logic was that in India, under Hindu traditions, a wife has to integrate fully with husband's family else it's cruelty. Indian are not westerners, and if wife doesn't stay with husband and family, a divorce can be granted under Hindu Marriage Act. (but wife is not a co-parcener under Hindu Succession Act). The court erred in conflating Indian with Hindu, which is a mistake, because the Muslim Personal Law allows a wife the full right to demand separate residence for herself!
• Rajesh Sharma case, 2017: Justices Adarsh Goel and UU Lalit said that no automatic arrests on charges of cruelty are allowed. The case was of a pregnant women who was sent back to father's place demanding dowry, and her foetus was aborted due to trauma. The lower court said she was tortured, and non-bailable offence under S.498-A was made out (non-compoundable too). The SC issued many directions favouring the accused! 
• Hadiya case, 2017: The Kerala case made shocking observations on the rights of the girl Hadiya, and on her father's powers over her. The SC in 2018 overruled it all, and upheld her marriage's validity. But the SC ordered the NIA to investigate her marriage - a marriage between two Indian adults!
• Summary: Indians must target patriarchy, not the judges of India who practise patriarchy.

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