7 Guidelines Issued By Supreme Court For Orders In Sexual Offence Cases

The Supreme Court's guidelines came while hearing a petition against the Madhya Pradesh High Court in a case of sexual assault asking the accused to get "rakhi" tied by the woman to get bail.

Striking down a controversial Madhya Pradesh High Court order that asked a woman to tie a "rakhi" to the man who allegedly assaulted her sexually, the Supreme Court on Thursday issued a set of guidelines for lower courts to consider when passing their verdicts. The top court, which was hearing a petition from nine women lawyers who said such orders were "gross trivialization of the trauma suffered by the complainant", issued directions for sensitisation of judges and lawyers and also ordered that in such cases, stereotypes must be avoided. (a) Bail conditions should not mandate, require or permit contact between the accused and the victim. Such conditions should seek to protect the complainant from any further harassment by the accused (b) Where circumstances exist for the court to believe that there might be a potential threat of harassment of the victim, or upon apprehension expressed, after calling for reports from the police, the nature of protection shall be separately considered and appropriate order made, in addition to a direction to the accused not to make any contact with the victim;