The Indian Judiciary sent shockwaves across the nation multiple times this year alone for all the wrong reasons due to their callous and simply ignorant rulings on sexual assault. With asking the victim to marry the predator to even ruling that groping through their clothing is not sexual assault, it is irrefutable to say that these rulings are nonsensical and absurd. When social media proves to be a better judge than the judiciary, it really makes one question the state of our system.
Tarun Tejpal, founder-editor of Tehelka newsmagazine was charged with sexually assaulting a junior female colleague in November 2013 in the elevator of a luxury hotel in Goa during an event. While he served seven months in jail, he was later granted bail by the Supreme Court. But on May 21, 2021, a trial court in Goa gave him ‘the benefit of the doubt’ and acquitted him of all charges.
In a 527-page judgment, Judge Kshama Joshi observed that were was no corroborative evidence to support the allegations made by the victim and stated that the victim has made numerous contradictory statements. The court also noted that the Investigating Officer failed to conduct an investigation on important points in the case. The Goa Police was also accused of destroying evidence by not producing CCTV footage from the hotel which the court claimed to have been clear proof of the innocence of the accused.
The judge noted, "It cannot be lost sight that rape causes the greatest distress and humiliation to the victim but at the same time a false allegation of rape can cause an equal distress and humiliation and damage to the accused as well”.
The court further claimed that the victim made several conflicting statements and did not show any kind of behavior that a victim might plausibly show. Furthermore, the court inferred that the victim was not traumatized through her WhatsApp messages and claimed that “it was entirely the norm for the prosecutrix to have such flirtatious and sexual conversations with friends and acquaintances”. Claiming her narrative to be of extreme implausibility, Judge Joshi added that it is not possible that a woman of her intelligence and fitness (as she is a yoga trainer) would not have pushed Tejpal off.
Despite Tejpal admitting to the assault and sending her a personal apology through email right after the incident which was deemed as inadmissible evidence in court, the judicial system has once again taken to victim-blaming. Free and fair trials can be conducted without having to reduce the victim to nothing. After Tejpal’s acquittal, many have taken to social media to defend the woman and to express their disbelief at the aghast ruling.
Such instances make you wonder if reporting a sexual assault will proffer any justice at all when the court itself makes bizarre rulings where they claim that the victim failed to act like one. It is pitiful that the judge and the court believe that there exists a set of rules or behavioral norms one must follow in order to prove that your assault and trauma are valid. The victim’s ‘flirtatious nature’ which they deduced from merely her messages should never be used as proof that the assault did not occur. Yoga in no way or form teaches you self-defense and it makes one question the standards of the court when queries like ‘Why didn’t you defend yourself?’ arise.
In a country where crimes against women occur day after day, is it us who have failed at humanity, or is the judiciary who failed to implement stricter rules and punishments? When a trial against the accused becomes one against the victim, we know that our women are not safe. In yet another instance of the judiciary’s victim-blaming, it is safe to say that reform is much needed.
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