Incredible India! US Woman Fumed Against Indian Judge for Bailing Her Convicted Indian Rapist. In the video that has gone viral, the US Woman also asks for the Desi women in the fight for justice against discrimination and assault on women in India.
Justice, as we know, was a right fundamental to all, but its fallacy is evident, as money now results in its fall. Objectively analyzed the criminal jurisprudence adopted by India is a mere reflection of the Victorian legacy left behind by the Britishers. The passage of time has only seen a few amendments once in a while to satisfy pressure groups and vote banks. Probably no thought has been given whether these legislation’s, which have existed for almost seven decades, have taken into account the plight and the socio-economic conditions of 70% of the population of this country which lives in utter poverty. India being a poverty-stricken developing country needed anything but a blind copy of the legislation’s prevalent in developed
western countries.
The concept of bail, which is an integral part of the criminal jurisprudence, also suffers from the above-stated drawbacks. Bail is broadly used to refer to the release of a person charged with an offence, on his providing a security that will ensure his presence before the court or any other authority whenever required. Bail, in law, means procurement of release from prison of a person awaiting trial or an appeal, by the deposit of security to ensure his submission at the required time to legal authority. The monetary value of the security, known also as the bail, or, more accurately, the bail bond, is set by the court having jurisdiction over the prisoner. Courts have greater discretion to grant or deny bail in the case of persons under criminal arrest, e.g., it is usually refused when the accused is charged with homicide. What is contemplated by bail is to “procure the release of a person from legal custody, by undertaking that he/she shall appear at the time and place designated and submit him/herself to the jurisdiction and judgment of the court.”
Now coming to the story, where a woman from the United States of America is totally fumed at an Indian Judge in New Delhi for giving bail to a convicted rapist who had raped her at her apartment in Delhi in 2013- and the accused was sentenced for 7-year imprisonment in February 2019. Sources reveal that this US woman, who was sexually assaulted in Delhi in 2013, has now come out against the “corrupted” Indian legal system for giving bail to the convict in the case. In a viral video posted by the victim in her Facebook page on 30 July 2019, she had alleged that she was notified that “the man who broke into her apartment and viciously attacked her and who she had to fight to get him convicted” was given bail.
Narrating her ordeal to get justice, she said she had to travel all the way to India alone to testify in the case but now the man was given bail by a “corrupt judge”. In the video, shot in front of the Indian Consulate in San Francisco-USA, the woman said she now has to take the case for appeal in the High Court or the Supreme Court of India. She had come to the Indian consulate to get the papers notarized to appeal in the higher courts in India. The victim also criticized the “corrupt Indian bureaucracy” as the consulate allegedly told her to get the papers notarized from the Indian consulate in Sacramento, California-USA. She went on asking for help from people, including Desi (Indian) women to ensure that justice was served to her in the case.
In the meantime, the Consulate General of India, San Francisco-USA had, responded to her in the Facebook video itself and clarified that all the attestations were provided on the same day itself, stating- “Our deepest sympathies and our support are with you. As you know, all attestations were provided on the same day (Tuesday) after you spoke to the Consulate officials and we waived the requirements of the Hague Convention that requires apostilling of legal documents. We hope that you obtain the justice you seek and deserve at the earliest,”.
The rape incident of the US woman dates back to 2013, where Rajeev Panwar, nephew of former Delhi mayor Jayshree Panwar, was arrested in 2013 for the alleged offence committed in his flat rented to the foreigners. According to the complaint, on June 24, 2013 night Panwar, after partying with the US woman, her husband and a Russian woman, trespassed into the US woman’s flat and molested her while she was sleeping. Panwar has been held guilty of digital rape of the US woman and was sentenced for seven-year imprisonment by a Delhi Court in February 2019.
The court had observed that the victim’s testimony could not be said to be unreliable as she came all the way from her country to depose in the case. When someone rapes a person using their finger or fingers it is termed as digital rape. Noting that the woman had no other interest left in India as her marriage had already broken down after the incident, Additional Sessions Judge Illa Rawat said the woman’s testimony could not be discarded despite some discrepancies.
Watching the video where the US woman expresses her feelings and frustrations over the bail given to her rapist by the Indian Judge, in conclusion, in my perspective-” Good things happen to those who wait – or so the saying goes. However, women and girls who are survivors of sexual violence in India can spend years waiting for justice. While this US woman had waited for years to get justice after her rapist was sentenced to 7-years of imprisonment, now she has to again fight for justice after a judge let the accused on bail, and she wants other Indian women to get justice when they too face the situation like hers.
It’s true that many survivors of sexual violence, face obstacles in getting justice in India and elsewhere. They may find it more difficult to escape from violent situations, call for help, or communicate abuse. Some may not know that non-consensual sexual acts are a crime. Access to justice should not be a matter of luck or patience – or needing civil society organizations to keep up the pressure. Governments around the world should ensure justice for all survivors of sexual violence, including girls and women. Justice cannot wait. I only hope this US Woman will fight to the last, until justice is served- and show the world that INDIA HAS THE CORRUPTED LEGAL SYSTEM?
WATCH THE VIDEO:
Will she be held in contempt?