‘Is the judiciary no longer trustworthy?
Prabha Gupta April 14,2025
Recently, bundles of currency notes were found burnt at the residence of Justice Verma of Delhi High Court. And the Allahabad judge is blaming the girl for the rape. Is the judiciary no longer trustworthy? The Allahabad High Court had recently delivered a verdict that has sparked controversy. In a recent case, the court granted bail to a rape accused, remarking that the victim had “invited trouble herself.” The court took into account the fact that the woman had been drinking at a bar and accompanied the accused late at night, framing these actions as her “personal decisions.” However, this reasoning appears to reflect a moral judgment rather than a strictly legal one.
Although the medical report confirmed signs of sexual intercourse, the court stopped short of explicitly recognizing the act as rape. This is despite Section 375 of the Indian Penal Code, which categorizes sexual intercourse with a woman under the influence of alcohol as rape, due to impaired capacity to give consent. The verdict has reignited debates around consent, women’s autonomy, and the tendency to blame victims. It raises a troubling question: Is the justice system now weaponizing women’s choices against them?
‘The girl was raped because it was her fault. She invited trouble upon herself. She is responsible for it.’ This is not the gossip of a few people sitting in a neighbourhood meeting. This is a recent decision of the Allahabad High Court.
Justice Sanjay Kumar Singh of the Allahabad High Court, while granting bail to a youth accused of rape on April 10, said this strange thing in defense of his decision. The case is related to an incident of rape that took place in December 2024. The victim girl alleges that the boy took her to his relative’s flat in a drunken state and raped her twice.
The victim girl had told in her statement in the court that she had gone to a bar in Delhi with her three female friends. This accused boy also met her there. The three girls drank alcohol till late night in the bar. Due to excessive intoxication, the girl was unable to control herself. Seeing her condition, the boy repeatedly asked her to come to his house. In that situation, the girl agreed to his proposal because she also needed help and wanted to go home and rest. As the accused boy had told, the girl thought that he would take her to his house in Noida, but the boy took her in the opposite direction to a relative’s house in Gurgaon, where he raped the girl.
When this matter reached the court, the accused’s lawyer argued that even if the victim’s allegations are considered true, then the case is not of rape. Instead, it could be a consensual relationship.
The accused’s lawyer also argued that the accused has been in jail since December 2024. He has no criminal record. If he is granted bail, he will not misuse it. Although the public prosecutor opposed the bail plea, he could not register his opposition on many issues with that ability.
Listen to what Justice Sanjay Kumar Singh’s single bench said while granting bail after hearing the arguments of the defense! The court said that “even if the victim’s statement is believed to be true, it is clear that she herself invited this situation and is also responsible for it. In the medical examination, the victim’s hymen (thin membrane at the entrance of the vagina) was found to be torn, but the doctor did not give any clear opinion regarding sexual abuse.”
While blaming the victim, the Allahabad High Court not only said that she invited trouble herself but also emphasized that the girl herself has admitted in her FIR that she knew what she was doing. How ethical or unethical can it be to do this. After hearing the entire evidence, facts, the role of the accused and the arguments of both the parties, the court held the girl guilty, and the Allahabad High Court gave the verdict in favor of the accused. His bail plea was accepted.
Is this the justice ? It is worth noting that according to section 375 of the Indian Penal Code (IPC), sex with a woman when she is intoxicated and not in a condition to give consent is considered rape. Now the question arises, were the top lawyers of Allahabad High Court and even the judge are not aware of this basic information? Or has the law been made fun of openly?
This is not the first time that such a decision has come from Allahabad High Court. Earlier also, in a case of attempted rape of a minor, Justice Ram Mohan Mishra of Allahabad High Court had given a controversial decision. In that case, it was said that breaking the string and pressing the breast is not rape. And now the blame of rape committed in an intoxicated state has been put on the victim girl? Why is Allahabad High Court giving such strange decisions? Why has the judicial consciousness of this High Court gone into shock?
