'Tie Rakhi For Bail': Supreme Court Quashes Madhya Pradesh HC Order In Sexual Assault Case

An apex court bench of Justices AM Khanwilkar and S Ravindra Bhat, which pronounced its order while hearing a plea filed by nine women lawyers, issued a slew of directions to be followed by the lower courts while dealing with bail petitions in matters relating to crimes against women.

(File Photo/ Getty)

New Delhi: Setting aside an order of the Madhya Pradesh High Court directing a person accused of sexual assault to get a rakhi tied by the woman he assaulted as a condition for bail, the Supreme Court on Thursday ordered that stereotypes must be avoided in such cases. Setting aside High Court's order, the apex court also issued a slew of directions, which included training modules for sensitisation of judges. 

The plea was filed by advocate Aparna Bhat and eight other women lawyers challenging the July 30 order by the Madhya Pradesh High Court, where an accused of sexual assault was asked to get a 'Rakhi' tied on him by the victim as a condition for bail.

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A bench headed by Justice A.M. Khanwilkar, which pronounced its order while hearing a plea filed by nine women lawyers, even ruled out several directions which need to be followed by the lower courts while dealing with bail petitions in matters relating to crimes against women.

"The bail condition in question amounts to further victimisation of the survivor in her own house. In the context of 'Raksha Bandhan' being a festival of guardianship between brothers and sisters, the said bail condition amounts to gross trivialization of the trauma suffered by the complainant in the present case", the plea filed in Supreme Court read.

"It is highly objectionable for the High Court in the present case to put the complainant in a position where she is forced to accept the sum of Rs 11,000 as part of the customary ritual of Raksha Bandhan. Moreover, the said bail condition also goes a step further by stating that Respondent No. 2 (the accused) tender Rs 5,000 to the son the complainant," it added.

The Indore bench of Madhya Pradesh High Court had earlier granted conditional bail to the man accused of having outraged the modesty of a woman with a condition requiring him to visit the complainant with a box of sweets and request her to tie a rakhi band on him with the promise to protect her to the best of his ability.

The accused also had to pledge to protect the woman as a brother.