Allahabad High Court Requests Appointment Of More Women Advocates For Victims Under The POCSO Act
It will be right to say that handling the cases of rape survivors is more than just a case that has to be won. The process requires a lot of empathy and sensitivity to deal with a woman or child who has been the victim of an atrocious act. Therefore to represent such cases and correctly understand the situation of the victims, women lawyers might always be the better choice in these cases. But it was noted by the Allahabad High Court that there is very less representation of women lawyers for rape victims. This was observed during the court procedure of a bail plea for a man accused of raping a Dalit minor girl who was speech-impaired.
The bail plea was heard by Justice Ajay Bhanot in the Allahabad High Court. The applicant was charged under the POCSO act and the court observed that it was a heinous crime that was not bailable. Justice Ajay Bhanot during the case also took notice of other important aspects and that was the less participation of women advocates in representing the rape victims. The court noted that the lawyers are appointed by the legal services committee of the High Court but not many female counsels were seen appearing for the survivors. Therefore, the Allahabad High Court requested the committee to give more female lawyers to rape survivors, especially in the case of minors, as per the news.
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This was a very significant point noted by the Allahabad High Court and was also highlighted during the court procedure itself. Having women lawyers represent the case of the rape survivors will also give them a level of comfort to speak up about the crime openly and in turn get the justice they deserve.
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We too hope to see more representation of women lawyers in the future.
