The Apex Court’s observation comes a few days after the Madras High Court had granted bail to a rape accused to mediate with the victim. Hailing the Apex Court’s order, women rights activists have demanded fast-tracking of rape cases so that justice is rendered quickly.
Speaking to Millennium Post, Delhi University Executive Council Member Abha Dev Habib said: “It is a good order. But it should be accompanied by fast-track resolution of cases, only then there will there be some kind of justice in the system. We welcome the order as women are often forced to marry their perpetrators due to societal pressure. In some cases, rape is a stigma and is in fact used to victimise women. Mediation was being used to make victims marry their rapists.”
She added: “One important aspect is that rape cases need to be resolved in a time-bound manner. The delivery mechanism of justice in these cases needs to be faster. After this, an important part lies in the rehabilitation of victims.” Ranjana Kumari, women’s rights advocate and Director of the Centre for Social Research, shared similar sentiments. “This is a very good judgment as local courts were going out of their mandate and often pushed women for some kind of compromise with their rapists,” she said.
The Supreme Court said courts cannot take a soft approach on mediation as such an attempt is illegal. The court termed it a spectacular error on the part of lower courts to promote such compromise. The Apex Court said there should be no mediation or compromise in rape cases as a woman’s body is her temple.
Recently, the Madras High Court had asked a man, who was found guilty of raping a minor, sentenced to seven years in jail and slapped with a fine of Rs 2 lakh, to “settle the matter by mediation”. The incident had taken place in 2002.
Justice P <g data-gr-id="31">Devadass</g>, holding that alternative dispute resolution such as mediation is now being used in criminal cases also, said: “In fact, even in Islam, Hinduism and Christianity, there are instances of solving the disputes in a non-belligerent manner.”