There can’t be settlement: Supreme Court
In a case of rape or attempt of rape, compromise under no circumstances can really be thought of
By : DC Correspondent
Update: 2015-07-02 03:15 GMT
New Delhi: The Supreme Court bench on Wednesday said if a compromise was permitted between the rape victim and the accused, it would rupture the sense of justice and puncture the criminal justice dispensation system.
Writing the judgement, Justice Dipak Misra said, “In a case of rape or attempt of rape, the conception of compromise under no circumstances can really be thought of. These are crimes against the body of a woman which is her own temple. These are offences which suffocate the breath of life and sully the reputation. And reputation, needless to emphasise, is the richest jewel one can conceive of in life. No one would allow it to be extinguished. When a human frame is defiled, the ‘purest treasure’, is lost. The dignity of a woman is part of her non-perishable and immortal self and no one should ever think of painting it in clay.”
The bench said, “There cannot be a compromise or settlement as it would be against her honour, which matters the most. It is sacrosanct. Sometimes solace is given that the perpetrator of the crime has acceded to enter into wedlock with her, which is nothing but putting pressure in an adroit manner; and we say with emphasis that the courts are to remain absolutely away from this subterfuge to adopt a soft approach to the case, for any kind of liberal approach has to be put in the compartment of spectacular error.”
The bench said “such an attitude reflects lack of sensibility towards the dignity, the élan vital, of a woman. Any kind of liberal approach or thought of mediation in this regard is thoroughly and completely sans legal permissibility.”