The Ladies Finger (@TheLadiesFinger) tweeted: Are you a legal figure or a loquacious speaker delivering a lecture on the morality of Indian women?…

We Went Through 45 High Court Judgments of Rape Cases in 2016, So You Don’t Have To. Really, You Don’t Want To

Judges, why do you call raped women helpless? Why do you hold forth about their souls being destroyed or their bodies ‘ravished’? Why do you worry about their marriage prospects, and comment on their chastity or virginity? Are you a legal figure or a loquacious speaker delivering a lecture on the morality of Indian women?

An attempt to find the answers to these deeply troubling questions led me to 45 High Court judgments of 2016 relating to Section 375 and Section 376 (rape) of the Indian Penal Code some of which resulted in conviction and some in acquittal. My focus has been on the factors that influence the tone of a rape law judgment.

Some of you may say: surely the 2013 amendment to the rape law must have led to a change in the way judges discuss rape cases, unlike the famously face-palm moments that our judiciary and executive branches have given us in the past? Surely? No.

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