SC slams Madras HC order, says mediation in rape case is against woman's dignity

After a Madras High Court judge granted bail to a rape accused so that he can meet the victim for a possible “mediation”, the Supreme Court slammed the Tamil Nadu judge for his attitude which is against the “dignity of a woman.” A Supreme Court bench headed by Justice Dipak Misra said that any compromise promising wedlock between a rape accused and the victim compromises the dignity of the woman. The court said that such a compromise lacks sensitivity on the part of those promoting a settlement, IANS reported. [caption id=“attachment_2321260” align=“alignleft” width=“380” class=" “] Reuters image.[/caption] The top court’s comments on Wednesday were made in the context of another rape case from Madhya Pradesh. Holding that courts cannot take a soft approach on the issue, the SC bench described the HC ruling as a “spectacular error” and lack of sensitivity on the part of a lower court which had allowed a rapist to go scot-free by accepting an agreement on wedlock. According to a Zee News report, retired Delhi High Court judge, Justice SN Dhingra termed the Madras HC order to “settle” the matter with the victim by mediation as “illegal”, “unwarranted” and “unethical”. Last week, a mahila court in Cuddalore district of Tamil Nadu had found a man called V Mohan guilty of raping a minor girl. Besides imposing a Rs 2 lakh fine, the court had also sentenced him to seven years in prison. The victim was an orphan who was living with her adoptive mother. She was pregnant after the rape and had delivered a child. After the mahila court verdict, Mohan had appealed to the Madras High Court for bail. On 21 June, the Madras High Court judge Justice P Devadass granted interim bail to the rapist so that he could ‘mediate’ with the victim. Justice P Devadass, holding that alternative dispute resolution such as mediation is now being used in criminal cases, had said, “In fact, even in Islam, Hinduism and Christianity there are instances of solving the disputes in a non- belligerent manner. The result of it is very good because there is no victor, no vanquished.” Granting interim bail to the accused Mohan, the judge in his order had said that he has already referred a similar matter in February for mediation which has yielded a good result and nearing happy resolution, PTI report said. “The victim-girl has become mother of a child. But as on date, she is nobody’s wife. So, she is an unwed mother. Now there is a big question mark looming large before the girl as well as her child, who is completely innocent “Generally, in this type of cases, the girl concerned is stated to be a victim, but really speaking the child born out of such a physical contact is also a victim. The child is a victim of circumstances. She had born to suffer a social stigma for no fault of hers. It is a great tragedy,” the judgement had said. Senior lawyers and experts had condemned the Madras HC order saying that this is a completely wrong approach in a criminal offence such as rape. “Rape is a sexual offence and a non-negotiable offence and one cannot have any mediation except in the situation where the woman alleges breach of promise to marry. Rape is a non-compoundable offence and there has to be a sentence,” The Hindu quoted noted advocate Geetha Ramaseshan as saying. With agency inputs