| Women's groups welcome new SC ruling in rape cases | |||
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| Renowned
writer and thinker Shafika Farhat welcomed the ruling, saying that such
stringent laws will help in bringing down the crime rate. "Every law
has a loophole. It is better to leave it to the judge to decide if the
victims' testimony 'inspires confidence'. Hopefully, this would act as
a deterrent," she said. |
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| Additional
District Judge Rajiv Bhatjiwale opined that the ruling was not unfair
towards men. "If there is enough evidence from the witnesses and
victims' testimony then the medical report should not be reason to give
the accused any benefit of doubt. The ruling can be safely interpreted
that if the offence is committed then conviction should not be a
problem. I welcome the decision," added ADJ Bhatjiwale. |
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| According
to the Principal of the Government MLB Girls College Dr Pushpa Tyagi,
the dictum is fair. "Every allegation made by a woman has to be
corroborated by circumstantial evidence or witnesses. So I do not think
the ruling is unjust. We need to be more strict towards persons who
commit such a heinous crime," she said. |
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| The
Apex Court, has set aside a verdict by the Madhya Pradesh High Court
and stated: "Non-examination of doctor and non-production of doctor's
report would not cause fatal to the prosecution case, if the statements
of the victim and other prosecution witnesses inspire confidence." |
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| The
state High Court had acquitted a rape accused on the ground that the
doctor who had examined the victim was not cross-examined. The Supreme
Court noted that the High Court had committed "grave miscarriage of
justice" in recording acquittal of the accused while giving him benefit
of doubt for non-examination of the doctor. |
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"Ours is a battle not for wealth or for power.
It is a battle for freedom. It is a battle for the reclamation of human personality."
- Dr BR Ambedkar
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