#SaveTheJudge & #SaveTheJustice. Does #WomenActivist have the license to Attack the Judiciary?
To,
The Honorable Chief Justice of India,
Supreme Court of India New Delhi, India.
Hon’ble Chief Justice of India,
We strongly believe in the Principle of Natural Justice, that a person is innocent till proven guilty by some competent Court. This Principle needs to be protected at every cost. Those who violate it by doing accused naming/shaming, #JudgeShaming, #JudiciaryShaming via social media must be punished strongly.
Every accused has the right to have a fair trial in the criminal justice system (even in cases like that of Mumbai Terror attacks by Kasab & other convicts, this court ensured a Fair Trial). That’s the protection granted by the Constitution of India and also by the Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR).
We write to you in reference to the recent judgment of the #TarunTejpal case. The Women Activists across the country used every tool from the “book of naming & shaming” to run smear campaigns against the Accused, many violating the court orders of no media reporting. That was all through the trial period. But once the Judgment is out and the accused was found “not guilty”, the same women activists have now directed their abusive verbal firing against the presiding judicial officer herself. Many Women Activists & Journalists have termed the individual judge as regressive mindset & questioning her credibility. It is pertinent to mention that while a judgment can always be appealed against legally and there are proper guidelines from the Hon’ble Supreme Court on what amounts of questioning a judgment as a “freedom of speech” and what amounts to “contempt of court”, these Women Activists & Journalists are just not abusing the judgment, but the Judge herself now. Does this not amount to offence in India? Will the Hon’ble Supreme Court step in to save the term “Hon’ble” for Judges?
If the same defamation, online abuse is not contempt of court – then what for contempt of Court exists in our Law book?
We have witnessed several cases, where the Lower court convicted or acquitted a person depending upon the merits of the case & then also subsequently the High Court & Supreme Court reversed the Judgments. There have been even instance of the Superior courts questioning the application of Judicial principles of the lower court judgments, but there too, the dignity of the presiding officer is not attacked. Is this attack allowed to the outside world, especially to Women Activists?
If we go through various High Courts & Supreme Court judgments, many Lower court judgments u/s IPC 375, 354, 498A were reversed as Lower Courts wrongly convicted accused in approximately 70% of these cases. In such cases, no one questioned the Lower court Judge’s creditability or termed them as a regressive mindset or made sarcastic statements equivalent to taunting the judge itself. Even simple bail applications are rejected routinely in the Lower Courts and the person has to reach up to High Court or Supreme Court only to get his merits noticed to secure the Bail.
The lower court Judges are already under humongous pressure to convict a MALE accused on mere allegations due to #MediaTrails and in very few cases they can conclude fair trials. The result is, we see that in number of Judgments in HC or SC even in a bail application, where the judgment needs to be completely reversed.
The present case at Hand:
A woman termed a Man ‘Rapist’ during a Lift journey of a 5-star Hotel during a company event – which is well covered with multiple CCTVs. It was a perfect case, where from the CCTV footage itself Police could have closed the case with B-report and should have initiated CrPC 182 (Refer Annexure #1). It could have saved so many years of just not the Judicial System / Court itself but would have also given more time to the “media convicted” accused to save his little dignity, if not his whole life.
But due to the media trial & hostage of Justice by the #WomenActivist group, the Investigating Officer was forced to work in a biased manner. IO was forced to even manipulate the critical evidence and was forced to make more than 3000 pages of “one-sided” charge sheet with more than 150 witnesses, prosecutrix email/WhatsApp etc. just to ensure the conviction of the accused.
Now for the Man as an accused, the only option left to prove his innocence was the fact that women refused to go for medical examination / DNA Test and since it was not possible to find truth via medical test or forensic test, had to bring on record the hiding of material facts, coming to court with unclean hand sand contradictory statements of the Prosecutrix. In the Judgment, nowhere it has been claimed by the Judge that the women’s statement not creditable because of her character.
Women Activists are questioning the discussion about the unclean hands of the victim in the judgment, but if that defence is also taken away from an accused, why have CrPC or CPC or the Courts itself? Because Women Activists run the law and the country, Right?
On mere allegation – it will be justified to term a person as guilty?
Will this be termed as a fair trial?
A person is innocent till proven guilty, but for the #WomenActivist group convicting a male accused even before a court trial begins, is a habit. This has happened in almost all the cases involving gender issue, which few women activists use as a matter of their profit. But the judiciary has maintained utter silence and has never taken any action against this.
But now, a new narrative is being established by these #WomenActivists that a male is termed guilty even when he proves his innocence in the Court. Is this justified & fair in a Criminal Justice System?
But #WomenActivist intentionally misleads people that it was victim shaming to justify their #JudgeShaming & attack on the Judge. They intentionally ignore the merits and fact and the judicial application of the mind to acquit the accused. The male accused and his advocate had to prove the contradiction, hiding of fact and unclean hands of the prosecutrix – as there is no other option. Even the CCTV footage was ignored to not accuse him of the crime by the IO. Not only in the #TraunTejPal case but there are also various other HC and SC Judgments where it can be found that the IO intentionally avoids or hide the evidence which is in favour of the justice for the accused.
Most of the #WomenActivist are well-known advocates or know the law very well that the confession Law where the confession under threat or promise can’t be used to term guilty to a person (Refer Annexure #2). Still, they hide the fact & spread #WrongNarrative intentionally that the male accused accepted the crime on an apology letter, so he should be punished, where even the women herself telling multiple times via email or WhatsApp message that the accused has not accepted the crime in his apology Letter.
In such a case what is the fault of the Judge?
Why #JudgeShaming & hostage of Justice System is justified?
We hereby pray that this court must take note of all of the above and must take very strong action against such Women Activists for Attacking the Judge (Refer Annexure #3).
Earlier also Judiciary was attacked when #WomenActivist group entered Delhi High court premises and broke the Judge's Chair and till date, none has been punished.
We would bring to your notice that during making the Law, these #WomenActivist group termed Rape as #HeinousCrime, hence Special Evidence Act, increase punishment, even up to #HangToDeath, was made. Though, as per them, a cheerful victim just after the alleged incident, is a fact that the judge should have ignored.
Then why the Rape Law should be termed as a #HeniousCrime?
Why give Life Term/Death Sentence/Rigorous Imprisonment under this law?
We pray that then this court must direct the lawmakers to review and amend the current law, on an immediate basis.
Prayer:
We pray that the Hon’ble Supreme Court must form an action committee to investigate the social media, Print Media and Electronic Media content to identify the offensive, disrespectful, #JudgeShaming messages/content and submit the report to itself within 15 days.
Based on the report, this court must take sumo-moto contempt action against those involved in #JudgeShaming & trying to take Justice System as a Hostage, as per their whims and fancies.
Guidelines to be issued for Criminal Investigation immediately. Two IOs must be assigned, where:
One IO is responsible to present the investigation & evidence from the complainant side
Another IO is responsible to present the investigation & evidence from the accused side
Strict Punishment to IO, who, conveniently and intentionally avoids or hides or destroys the evidence which is material for the case
Additionally, the court may be pleased to issue the notice to lawmakers that when a woman can behave normal & cheerful after a claim of Rape, why should it be termed as a #HeinousCrime and why should there be any increase in the punishment, as amended in Criminal Amendment Act 2013?
Any other or suitable order this court deems fit/suitable to stop the #JudgeShaming & hostage of Justice System by any group/persons. Thanking you and seek your kind action at the earliest.
Yours Truly,
Swarup Sarkar
Founder Member of Men Welfare Trust (MWT)
(#MWT a self-supported, self-volunteered group working for the welfare of Men & running a helpline for Men jointly with other, brother NGOs, Free of cost)