Feminist Groups, 7000 Individuals Write to Patna CJ for Justice

Following more than 360 lawyers, including senior Supreme Court advocates, writing to the Patna High Court chief justice on the need to provide justice to the Araria gangrape survivor, 63 civil society organisations (CSOs), many of them feminist groups, and 7020 individuals have urged him to ensure “immediate release and quashing of all cases” against her and two feminist activists Kalyani and Tanmay, who work with the Jan Jagran Shakti Sangathan.

Text of the Petition

To

The Chief Justice of Patna High Court

We, the undersigned feminist organisations and individuals, write to you on a matter of great urgency. We have come to know of the bizarre and shocking manner in which a judge ordered the arrest of a 22-year old survivor of a gangrape along with the two activists who were accompanying her in Araria district on July 10, 2020, right in the midst of recording her statement under S124. The two feminist activists – Kalyani and Tanmay – were her support givers and work with Jan Jagran Shakti Sangathan, a registered trade union that works in the unorganized sector. The three have been sent off to judicial custody in Dalsinghsarai Jail in Samastipur district, 250 kms away from Araria, on 11th July 2020.

The rape survivor is seeking justice for the heinous gangrape by five men that she has undergone just four days prior to this incident. During the proceedings, after giving her statement, she was asked to sign a paper. Given the anxiety caused by her recent trauma, she wanted the activists supporting her to be present during the proceedings. This is a request that a survivor is entitled to for moral support and strength even during in-camera trial proceedings.

In lieu of recognising the survivor’s trauma in recounting the ordeal, and putting her at ease by providing her the requisite support, the magistrate took this valid request as though it were an assault on the dignity of the court. He further perceived the request of the survivor as demonstrating a lack of faith or trust in the court or its proceedings. When the activists intervened on her behalf, to explain her state of shock and trauma, both at the incident itself and the procedures followed prior to the statement being recorded, they were also implicated as being in ‘contempt of court’.

Over the years, women’s groups have worked tirelessly to highlight the multiple vulnerabilities and difficulties with which a survivor comes forward to register a complaint, and the need to build empathy within the justice system through different forms of support to be provided during such a time. Over years there have been demands that survivors should be provided counselling, they should not be made to repeat their story multiple times, they should not be forced to face their assaulters, and their identity should be kept confidential. Much of this has been recognised in the Justice Verma Commission report, and judgements of various high courts.

The Justice Verma Commission report also suggested that 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.”

We are hence appalled to find that the events that have taken place in this case are in complete violation of these guidelines, and have worsened the situation for the survivor in multiple ways. Moreover, in complete disregard of the confidentiality legally assured to a rape survivor, her name, address and details of what transpired got reported in the electronic media. A reporter was seen rummaging through the case file in the presence of the court clerk in a photograph uploaded on a social media platform. Because of the leak, the survior has been made vulnerable to stories in the media, character assassination, and intimidation by the accused and their families and the societal pressures that followed.

On top of all these infractions, while the rapists are at large, the survivor and activists supporting her now have cases registered against them under IPC sections 353, 228, 188 and 120B, even as the FIR against the gangrape incident remains unattended. Under no circumstances can we imagine a reason for this line of action against the survivor and the activists supporting her.

We strongly condemn the gross violations of the rights of the rape survivor and activists during the course of seeking justice. Such action is not only harmful in this case but sets a dangerous precedent of lapse of judicial accountability which will affect all other survivors of sexual assault and their support givers.

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.

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.

(Courtesy: Counterview, an alternate news portal.)

✫✫✫

Rape Survivor who was Sent to Jail for ‘Contempt of Court’ Recounts Her Traumatic Ordeal

Gauri Lankesh News Desk

On July 10th, the arrest and detention of a rape survivor and her support persons in Araria, Bihar caught national headlines.

Today, more details have emerged about the humiliation and harassment that the rape survivor and her two support workers faced.

The rape survivor, Khushi (name changed to protect her identity), was made to spend 10 days in jail after a Magistrate charged her with contempt of court. Her two support persons from Jan Jagaran Shakti Sangathan (JJSS), Kalyani and Tanmay, are still in jail.

On being released from custody, Khushi recounted the horrific ordeal she underwent in reporting and registering her rape complaint.

With support and encouragement from Kalyani and Tanmay, Khushi gathered the courage to approach the police and file a complaint about the gang-rape committed on her. But after being made to wait for hours in court, in close proximity to a male accomplice of the alleged rapists, she became anxious and unnerved.

“If you were in my position, how would you feel? In these four days, I’ve recounted my experience of the night of the rape to the police so many times. So many times, I was the one who was blamed for this incident”, she said.

Khushi explained: “At court, after a long wait the judge called me inside. Now only he & I were in the room. I have never been in such an environment. ‘What will happen now? What will I have to do? Why are Kalyani didi & Tanmay Bhaiya not here with me?’, these thoughts were on my mind. Then he (judge) started to read out what he had written. His mouth was covered with a handkerchief. I could not understand my testimony when he was reading it out. I was wondering whether what I had said was what was written.” When she asked him if he could remove the handkerchief and then read out the statement, the judge refused.

“Then the judge asked me to sign on that statement. I might not have gone to school but I know this much that until you don’t understand something, you shouldn’t sign on any piece of paper. I again said that I do not understand, please call Kalyani didi, she can read it out to me and once I understand it, I can sign it. The judge became incensed, saying – ‘why? don’t you trust me? Insolent girl, has no one ever taught you any manners?’ I was utterly numb. Had I said something wrong? I said, “no, I do trust you, but I am not able to understand what you have read out”…Then they called Kalyani didi. The judge was still enraged. Kalyani Didi and I apologized to him. Still, nobody was listening to us”, the rape survivor stated.

Displaying shocking insensitivity and callousness, the judge apparently called Khushi “an insolent girl (badtameez ladki), again and again”. Referring to the rape survivior, the judge told Kalyani; “you all have not taught her any manners”. Khushi recalled that the two support workers also tried explaining to the judge that, “if Khushi is not able to understand her statement, it should be read out to her again”. But the judge was impatient with their requests, pointing out to them that he had “so much work”.

The rape survivor stated: “There was so much commotion in that room that we understood that now we would not be heard…Tanmay bhaiya, Kalyani didi, and I kept standing there. They started to take a video of us and we were told that we were obstructing government work, so now we would have to be put in jail. I thought that when I have endured so much, this too then. I was granted bail after 10 days, but those who were standing with me are still in jail. We only wanted justice. We will not stop this fight.”

Despite public outrage over the arrest and imprisonment of the two caregivers, Kalyani and Tanmay have been denied bail. Over 300 lawyers had also written to the Chief Justice of the Patna High Court urging the Court to intervene in the matter. Activists, women’s organisations, and Amnesty International India have demanded the immediate release of the social workers, especially in light of the spread of COVID-19 in prisons.

(Courtesy: Gauri Lankesh News, an independent news website, pro-people and committed to constitutional values.)