The Government of West Bengal has informed the Supreme Court that it has lodged an appeal contesting a judgment from the Calcutta High Court, which advised adolescent girls to ”control sexual urges” and urged young men to train themselves to respect women. The Supreme Court had criticized the verdict on December 8 last year, deeming certain remarks by the high court as ”highly objectionable & completely unwarranted.” The top court had initiated a suo motu writ petition, stating that judges are not expected to ”preach” when drafting judgments.
In a recent hearing before a bench of justices A S Oka and Ujjal Bhuyan, Senior advocate Huzefa Ahmadi, representing West Bengal, mentioned that the state has appealed against the high court’s verdict from October 18 last year. The bench noted that the suo motu writ petition and the state’s appeal should be heard together, underscoring that the issue involves not just observations but also findings.
The high court, in its judgment, made contentious remarks, suggesting that female adolescents should ”control sexual urges” and refrain from ”giving in to two minutes of pleasure.” The Supreme Court, in its December 8 order, referred to these comments, stating that they prima facie violated the rights of adolescents guaranteed under Article 21 of the Constitution of India. The apex court stressed that judges are not expected to express personal views or preach in their judgments.
The high court made these remarks while addressing an appeal by a man convicted of sexual assault. It acquitted the man, arguing that it was a case of ”non-exploitative consensual sexual relationship between two consenting adolescents.” The high court’s judgment and the comments sparked criticism, prompting the Supreme Court’s suo motu writ petition.
