#Trending: A Madhya Pradesh Court’s Condition To Grant Bail To A Man Accused Of Molesting A Woman Is To Get The Woman To Tie Him A Rakhi. Is This Some Kind Of Joke?
I still remember the ridiculous comments people passed after the news of the Nirbhaya rape case broke out all those years ago. Someone said she should’ve recited the Gayatri mantra and some said she should’ve called her rapists “bhaiya” to get them to leave her alone. Of course, it doesn’t take a genius to figure out whoever said these things are men with absolutely no understanding of women and the predicaments we face. India is not a woman-friendly country, we have established that much. But the least, our ministers and judiciary can do is try and get these women who are rape and sexual assault survivors some semblance of justice instead of making a mockery of the whole thing.
Speaking of which, recently, the Indore bench of a Mandya Pradesh court laid out a very uncommon condition to grant bail to a man who has been accused of molesting a woman.
Any guesses? Let me give you a hint. It has something to do with a festival we all cherish and just celebrated yesterday. Oh yeah, the bench decided that the accused will get bail if the woman he molested ties him a rakhi, on the day of Raksha Bandhan. The accused also has to “protect her for all times to come”.
"Get 'Rakhi' Tied By Woman You Molested": Court's Bail Condition For Man https://t.co/TkuOXs7Wdz pic.twitter.com/iNb625LivP
— NDTV (@ndtv) August 2, 2020
So I guess now our courts are doling out bails and sentences on the basis of promises and festivals. As if there weren’t enough problems in our justice system. He molested a woman, he needs to be punished for his crime. If I can understand that, I am sure a judge does too. Get the victim to tie a rakhi to her molester is not a solution. If anything, it sets a dangerous precedent.
The court also ordered the accused, Vikram Bagri, to give Rs 11,000 to the victim as the offering made by a brother to his sister to get her blessings. So, now, the victim now has to bless her molester so he can make bail. FFS. The court has also ordered him to give Rs 5,000 to the woman’s son so he can buy new clothes and sweets. If the woman is being compensated for being molested, I would say Rs 16,000 is a very small amount.
A single-judge bench of Justice Rohit Arya passed the order and said, “The applicant, along with his wife shall visit the house of the complainant with Rakhi thread on August 3, 2020, at 11 AM with a box of sweets and request the complainant to tie the Rakhi band to him with the promise to protect her to the best of his ability for all times to come.”
Also Read: A Gang-Rape Survivor Has Been Arrested For “Contempt Of Court” After She Showed Frustration Over Being Constantly Questioned About The Incident. This Is Shameful
Start your day with #GenderNews | Around the world:
1. And because it's #RakshaBandhan, here's an example of how consent is a joke in India. Has anyone asked the woman if she agrees to this? Or whether she wants to meet her molester again? https://t.co/7hCPbcQlKW
— Ungender (@ungender_in) August 3, 2020
Justice Rohit Arya should’ve set bail at an extremely high amount so Vikram Bagri can be punished for what he did. Getting the woman to tie him a rakhi is all one big freak show and it’s not the way to deal with a molestation case.
Vikram Bagri is being accused of breaking into a 30-year-old woman’s house in Ujjain, near Indore. He should not be cut loose on the basis of a rakhi and a promise. This is bullshit.
I just have to ask, why does the court think that the woman wants to be around her molester? Let alone tie him a rakhi and make him her “protector”? Don’t you think this will further traumatize the victim who I am sure is traumatized enough already? I understand if this was the ruling of some tribal kangaroo court but I did not expect this from the High Court of a major state.
This ruling ruins the meaning behind Rakhsha Bandhan and the precious relationship it honours. I just can’t understand how the bench thought of this as an appropriate course of action. Every second day we hear of a woman being sexually assaulted and if we need those numbers to come down, our courts and benches need to make some seriously significant rulings. This is not a joke, let’s stop treating it like one.
https://thehauterfly.com/lifestyle/helpless-resignation-is-not-consent-said-kerala-high-court-in-a-rape-case-finally-some-hope/
