Women's Life & Judicial Delay

Women's Life & Judicial Delay

Main Examination: General Studies Paper-2

(Social Justice)

September 08, 2023

Reference:

• Recently, the Supreme Court has expressed anger over the behavior of the Gujarat High Court on the petition of a rape victim demanding termination of pregnancy.
• The High Court listed the matter after twelve days, ignoring the fact that time was of the essence in this case, whereas each day's delay was critical.
• The petitioner, a victim of rape, approached the court seeking termination of pregnancy when she was twenty-six weeks pregnant.
• In such a situation even a delay of one day would have been fatal for safe abortion. Despite this, the High Court had rejected his petition without giving any reason or issuing its order. This situation is painful not only for physical health but also for mental health.

Foreword:

• In the context of justice considerations, delay can be an important issue. During the judicial process, the hearing or decision of a case may get delayed due to which the person may face problems in getting justice. Delay in judicial process can be a big problem towards judicial system and it can cause difficulties in social justice.
• In the context of women's life, there is a question of women's rights and safety in the judicial system. It has been observed in the societies and judicial systems that the rights of women are not being followed and they can often be the victims of disputes in the judicial process. Women's safety is important in various judicial matters, such as hearing on violence against them, dowry system and equal rights in their society.
• Delays in the judicial process and women's life issues may be linked, such that women may face time and barriers to access justice and delays may create further difficulties for them. In order to improve the society and the judicial system, it is important that the society and the government follow the rights of women and ensure their safety, so that they can be able to get justice properly.

Justice Delayed:

• Delay in justice refers to the situation when a case or dispute is pending in the court of judicial process and becomes unable to give a decision of justice. This is considered to be a violation of the basic elements of social justice and ideological justice. The process of adjudication by justice should be speedy and fair so that delay can be avoided.

Women's Rights and Empowerment:

• Feminine life refers to the set of social and legal rights a person enjoys as a woman. This includes their education, health, support, social respect and their judicial rights. It is the process of achieving women's life through equality, emancipation and respect in the society.

Unsafe Abortion and Judicial Delay:

• In many cases related to sexual violence, the women and their families get frustrated as the trial drags on due to the complicated judicial process.
• Seriousness is often not seen on many fronts even regarding very sensitive issues related to the lives of women. In this painful time, the absence of concerned thinking on the side of prompt action, judicial decision or getting social support, puts forward the situation like changing a lot but not changing anything. Recently, after a comment by the Supreme Court, a strange attitude related to the legal process has become a matter of discussion.
• Be it criminal cases or hearing of sentences related to rape incidents, the situations of delay are going to create many more problems for women.
• Delay in such cases of seeking permission for an abortion after being a victim of physical abuse can have dire consequences. In these circumstances, many times the family members and the victim choose the path of unsafe abortion.
• Be it at home or outside, on one hand the figures of criminal incidents related to women are increasing and on the other hand, the suffering faced by women from hearing to waiting for the decision on the legal front has also increased. Judicial delay breaks the morale of many women.
• Due to judicial delay, many women are unable to muster the courage to protest against the atrocities being committed against them.
• According to the United Nations World Population Report, 2022, about eight women die every day in India due to unsafe abortion.
• According to the National Family Health Survey-5, more than one-fourth of all abortions in the country take place at home.

Medical Termination of Pregnancy Act

• The Medical Termination of Pregnancy Act, amended in 2021, allows abortion up to twenty-four weeks for a rape victim.
• But in appropriate cases the Constitutional Court may use its extraordinary powers to permit termination of pregnancy beyond twenty-four weeks.
• In the year 2022, the Kerala High Court also allowed termination of the twenty-eight weeks of pregnancy of a minor rape victim after the recommendation of the medical board.
• Last year, the Delhi High Court had also allowed a thirteen-year-old rape victim to medically terminate her pregnancy after 26 weeks, saying that if she was forced to bear the burden of motherhood at an early age so this will be a situation that will further increase his pain and suffering.

Way forward:

• Understanding the seriousness of criminal incidents against underage girls, provision of strict punishment should be made against people with deviant mentality.
• Parliament should consider making strict laws against perpetrators of sexual abuse or rape.
• Consideration should be given to making separate provisions for cases of child rape.
• In the case of seeking permission to terminate pregnancy, it is worth underlining the observation of the Supreme Court that the condition of the woman who is a victim of a heinous crime should be the primary criterion in the context of justice.
• Public awareness campaigns should be run to improve the mental and life-related conditions of women.
• Instead of tolerating bad behavior, women should come forward and raise their voice.

Conclusion:

• The slow pace of the judicial system also affects the quality of judgement. Delayed justice only increases the courage of people with criminal mindset.
• That's why spontaneity and promptness in the legal process is also necessary to bring changes on the practical ground.

                                               ----------------------------- 

Mains Exam Question

Critically examine the judicial cases related to women's life.