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dpa
New Delhi
More than 4,000 people have signed an open letter to India’s top judge demanding he quit after asking a government official, accused of repeatedly raping a minor girl, whether he would marry the victim, one of the signatories said on Wednesday.
A bench headed by India’s chief justice, Sharad Arvind Bobde, while hearing the bail plea of the 23-year-old man on Monday had told the petitioner: “If you want to marry we can help you. If not, you lose your job and go to jail. You seduced the girl, raped her,” NDTV news channel reported.
The man’s lawyer had told the court he would lose his job if arrested.
The man had been accused of stalking, tying up, gagging and repeatedly raping the then 16-year-old girl in 2014-15, activist Kavita Krishnan said.
“By suggesting that this rapist marry the victim-survivor, you, the chief justice of India, sought to condemn the victim-survivor to a lifetime of rape at the hands of the tormentor who drove her to attempt suicide,” the open letter said.
“Enough is enough,” said the letter tracing the poor track record of India’s justice system in responding to sexual violence against women.
They argued that the chief justice’s words sent a message to other courts, judges and police that justice was not a constitutional right for women in India. “This will only lead to the further silencing of girls and women, a process that took decades to break.
New Delhi
More than 4,000 people have signed an open letter to India’s top judge demanding he quit after asking a government official, accused of repeatedly raping a minor girl, whether he would marry the victim, one of the signatories said on Wednesday.
A bench headed by India’s chief justice, Sharad Arvind Bobde, while hearing the bail plea of the 23-year-old man on Monday had told the petitioner: “If you want to marry we can help you. If not, you lose your job and go to jail. You seduced the girl, raped her,” NDTV news channel reported.
The man’s lawyer had told the court he would lose his job if arrested.
The man had been accused of stalking, tying up, gagging and repeatedly raping the then 16-year-old girl in 2014-15, activist Kavita Krishnan said.
“By suggesting that this rapist marry the victim-survivor, you, the chief justice of India, sought to condemn the victim-survivor to a lifetime of rape at the hands of the tormentor who drove her to attempt suicide,” the open letter said.
“Enough is enough,” said the letter tracing the poor track record of India’s justice system in responding to sexual violence against women.
They argued that the chief justice’s words sent a message to other courts, judges and police that justice was not a constitutional right for women in India. “This will only lead to the further silencing of girls and women, a process that took decades to break.
