CJI Bobde Clarifies ‘Didn’t Ask Accused To Marry Girl’ In Rape Case; "Supreme Court Respects Women"

As an institution, the Supreme Court have always had the highest respect for the womanhood, said Chief Justice of India (CJI) SA Bobde on Monday, as he sought to dispel a controversy after bench led by him asked a rape accused last week whether he was ready to marry the complainant.

“As an institution and as a bench in this court, we have always had the highest respect for the womanhood. This court has always given the largest respect to women. We never asked the accused to marry the girl. We asked him ‘Are you going to marry her’. There was complete misreporting of what we said,” observed the CJI, as he heard a petition by a 14-year-old rape survivor who has sought termination of her 26-week pregnancy.

Reacting to the controversy that flared up after his comments attracted criticism from a section of lawyers as well as rights groups, justice Bobde pointed out that his questions to the lawyer for the accused were in the facts of that particular case but there was misreporting by the media.

Solicitor general Tushar Mehta, who was present during the proceedings, supported the CJI, saying the court’s poser during the hearing on March 1 were completely in sync with Section 165 of the Evidence Act, which empowered judges to ask questions in order to discover or to obtain proper proof of relevant facts in a case.

Mehta said that the court’s questions were justified in the facts of that case but the comments were widely reported out of the context. At this, the CJI said: “Our reputation is always at the hands of the Bar.”

#SupremeCourt #RapeAccused #CJIBobde

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