Yesterday, a few human rights organisations had written to the Chief Justice of the Patna High Court in connection with the shocking case of a judge in Araria sending a rape survivor and two women’s rights activists to judicial custody just because the traumatised survivor requested the presence of the activists while recording her statement.
The two activists; Kalyani Badola and Tanmay Nivedita were the survivor’s support providers and work with Jan Jagran Shakti Sangathan, a Registered Trade Union. The three have been sent off to judicial custody in Dalsinghsarai Jail in Samastipur district, 250 kms away from Araria, on July 11, 2020.
Now, the petition has received signatures from 7,020 people and 63 organisations. The petitioners say, “We request you as the Chief Justice of the Patna High Court to take cognisance of the matter and ensure the following:
1) The immediate release of the survivor and activists, as well as quashing of all charges against them.
2) A smooth and quick trial of the incident of gangrape so that the culprits are brought to book
3) Issuing of state-specific guidelines to ensure that there is a friendly and non-hostile environment in respect of rape/sexual assault cases in adherence with the recommendations of the Justice Verma Commission.”
The petitioners have also reminded the Chief Justice of the recommendations made by the Justice Verma Commission report according to which the State will provide for “support services for shelter, social workers, Counsellors mental health professional, lawyers” and has and clearly recognised the need for presence of members of women’s organisations or others supporting the survivor. The report clearly states, “Whether the entire enquiry and trial is conducted in camera or not… (I)n any event, the victim must have a member of the women’s organisation inside to offer moral support.”
The petitioners appeal to the wisdom and compassion of the Chief Justice saying, “Your actions in this case bear weight not only in the case of the current survivor but in setting the precedent and furthering the cause of creating greater access to justice for women who have survived rape and sexual assault. The responsibility to remedy the injustice done in this matter, to compensate for the additional trauma caused due to these actions, and to ensure that the survivor recieves a speedy and fair trial in the matter of her gang rape, rests squarely upon your shoulders. We hope that you will act in accordance with constitutional principles that your office is invested to uphold.”
The entire petition as well as list of signatories may be viewed here:
Additionally, about 376 advocates from across the country have written to the Chief Justice and other judges of the Patna HC on the need for urgent and systemic changes in the treatment of survivors of violent sexual crimes in the Araria District Court, Bihar. These include Sr. Adv Indira Jaising, Adv Prashant Bhushan, Adv Vrinda Grover, Adv Rebecca Mammen John, Sr Adv Mukul Talwar, Adv Basant Kumar Choudhary, Adv N D Pancholi, Adv Ashok Agarwal, Sr. Adv Gayatri Singh, Adv Veena Gowda, Adv Shomona Khanna, Adv Amit Anand Tiwari, Adv Sumita Hazarika, Adv.Susan Abraham, Adv Rachana Joshi Issar, Adv Roma Malik, Adv Indira Unninayyar, Adv Anubha Rastogi, Adv Poonam Kaushik, Adv Flavia Agnes, Adv Vasudha Nagraj, Adv Sheela Ramanathan, Adv Maharukh Adenwalla, Adv Nousheen Yousuf, Adv Nabeela Tareen, Nanita Sharma, Adv Stanley John, Adv Vinay Sreenivasa, Adv Maitreyi Krishnan, Adv Raghavendra Kumar, Adv Lara Jesani, Adv Mangla Verma, Adv Cheryl D’Souza, Adv Apar Gupta, Adv Pyoli Swatija, Adv Piyush Kumar Pandey, Adv Bijaya Chanda, Adv Shalini Gera, Adv Isha Khandelwal, Adv. Parijata Bhradwaj, Adv Nikita Agarwal and more than 300 others lawyers.
Related:
Rape survivor jailed in Bihar, Human Rights groups write to Patna HC