Snigdha Poonam in the The Hindustan Times reported on the ethical and legal dilemmas faced by lawyers defending those laccused of rape in this excellent read, which also includes this interesting passage on corruption in courts:

‘A case is a case’: For some lawyers, defending rape is a business

All Sanjay Verma (name changed) does sitting across a client whose views he doesn’t agree with is tell him he is right. “He may be justifying rape by saying, ‘ladki daaru peeti hai (the girl drinks alcohol)’, that she has had an affair with everyone. I might be wondering how any of this matters to the case, but I will say to him, ‘bhai sahib, aap sahi bol rahe hain (brother, you are entirely right)’.”

There is nothing ethical about his job, Verma says. “Defending rape in lower courts is all about jugaad. Often, you have to bribe your way through, from investigating officer to public prosecutor. At times, you have to manipulate the victim into rescinding her statement. It’s legally wrong as an officer of the court — you can be disbarred for it — but you have no option.”

Sometimes, he fights for the guilty just for the thrill.

“I have defended non-consensual cases and shown them as consensual. Every trial is, at the end, a game, and however stupid a game, a win is a win, even if it seems inhuman. There is the WOW moment when you defend someone you know has committed the crime — you have read the charge sheet, you have read his statement—and you win the case.”