ROLE OF JUDICIARY IN PROTECTING RIGHTS OF

WOMEN IN INDIA

"You can tell the condition of a nation by looking at the status of its women"....
Jawaharlal Nehru.
Unfortunately, India is one of the few countries where offences against women
have been increasing in tremendous way. In fact since ages the status and the
position of women in India is a controversial subject, as it reflects the
contradictory and the paradoxical nature of the Indian society. In one way people
offers prayers to women as goddess, more over Indian tradition and the culture
says that "yatra nari pujyante tatra ramante devta". But at the same time and in
other side women are considered to be in the secondary position and they are put
to atrocities even before birth till death.

In mean time constitutional law and ordinary law through judiciary has been
working as a savior of women from atrocities and also giving helping hand in
numerous ways for perk up status of women in all spears of their life. The status
of women in our country has risen to the present level which may not be up to the
mark but still satisfactory is because of active judiciary as well as public spirited
people who successfully manoeuvred the status of women of our country to the
present level. The unbiased and independent judiciary has always played the role
of a true Guardian of justice. Since independence many a times the judiciary has
pro-actively interpreted and amplified the ambit of legislative provisions in
favour of the unprivileged half of the society, i.e., the women of our country.
The rights and safeguards enshrined in the constitution for women in India
1.The right to equality and equal protection of laws [Article 14]
2.The state shall not discriminate against any citizen of India on the ground of
sex [Article 15(1)].
3.The state is empowered to make any special provision for women. In other
words, this provision enables the state to make affirmative discrimination in
favour of women [Article15(3)].
4.No citizen shall be discriminated against or be ineligible for any employment
or office under the state on the ground of sex [Article 16(2)].
5.Traffic in human beings and forced labour are prohibited [Article 23(1)].
6.The state to secure for men and women equally the right to an adequate means
of livelihood [Article 39(a)].
7.The state to secure equal pay for equal work for both Indian men and women
[Article 39(d)].
8.The state is required to ensure that the health and strength of women workers
are not abused and that they are not forced by economic necessity to enter
avocations unsuited to their strength [Article 39(e)].
9.The state shall make provision for securing just and humane conditions of work
and maternity relief [Article 42].
10.The State to promote with special care the educational and economic interests
of the weaker sections of the people and to protect them from social injustice and
all forms of exploitation [Article 46].[9]
11.The State to raise the level of nutrition and the standard of living of its people
[Article 47].[10]
12.It shall be the duty of every citizen of India to renounce practices derogatory
to the dignity of women [Article 51-A(e)].
13.One-third of the total number of seats to be filled by direct election in every
Panchayat shall be reserved for women [Article 243-D(3)].
14.One-third of the total number of offices of chairpersons in the Panchayats at
each level shall be reserved for women [Article 243-D (4)].
15.One-third of the total number of seats to be filled by direct election in every
Municipality shall be reserved for women [Article 243-T(3)].
16.The offices of chairpersons in the Municipalities shall be reserved for women
in such manner as the State Legislature may provide [Article 243-T(4)]. Etc.
17.The elections to the House of the People and to the Legislative Assembly of
every State shall be on the basis of adult suffrage; that is to say, every person who
is a citizen of India and who is not less than eighteen years of age irrespective of
gender, status etc entitle to be a voter. (Article 325[11]and 326[12])
Judicial Approach in the matters relating to Education:
Education is a part of the development of the personality of all in general and
woman in particular. In P. Sagar v. State of Andhra Pradesh (1968 AIR 379),
The Andhra Pradesh High Court observed that Article 15(3) is an exception
engrafted to clause (1) of the Article 15. Thus, in view of the Article 15(3)
reservation for women cannot be denied. Similarly, the reservation for sports
women does not offend the provisions of Articles 15(1) and 29(2) of the
Constitution.

In Padmaraj Samarendra v. State of Bihar, allotment of some seats for girl

students in Medical Colleges was challenged on the ground that it is solely based
on sex. The Court while justifying the allotment of seats for girl students held as
reasonable and it cannot be said to be discrimination on the ground of sex alone.
Judicial Approach in the matters of Employment:
In Miss C.B, Muthamma, I.F.S v. Union of India (1979) 4 SCC 260, In A.N.
Rajamma v. State of Kerala the Court upholding the principle of equality of
status put the female employees at par with male employees and struck down the
various rules as unconstitutional.

In Vijay Lakshmi v. Punjab University AIR 2003 SC 3331, Court held that
appointment of lady Principal in Women’s college or a lady teacher therein,
cannot be held to be violative of Articles 14 and 16 of the Constitution, because
classification is reasonable and it has a nexus with the object to be achieved. More
over it is a precautionary, preventive and protective measure based on public
morals and particularly in view of the young age of the girl students to be taught.
Humanitarian approach of the Judiciary towards sex-workers and sexually
abused women:
In Budhadev Karmaskar v. State of West Bengal JT 2011 (8) SC 289, Court
held that generally, our society views prostitutes as women of low character but,
refuse to look at their situation from their perspective. The bench in this case must
be appreciated not just for recognizing their right under Article 21 and directing
the state and central governments to act for their welfare but also, to understand
their perspective and impoverished situation. Not only this, but the bench acted
quite actively and gave the directions to Central and State government to prepare
schemes for giving technical/vocational training to sex workers and sexually
abused women in all cities in India.
Role of judiciary in safeguarding rape victim:
-Rape is an offence against right to privacy and dignity of women
In Delhi Domestic Working women’s Forum v. Union of India (1995) 1 SCC
14, in Bodhisathwa Gautam v. Subhra Chakraborty (1996) I SCC 490, and
in Chairman, Railway Board v. Chandrima Das AIR 2000 SC 988, etc cases
court held that women also have the right to life and liberty; they also have the
right to be respected and reacted as equal citizens. Their honour and dignity
cannot be touched or violated. They also have the right to lead an honorable and
peaceful life. Rape is a crime against basic human rights and is also violative of
the victim’s most cherished of the fundamental rights, normally, the right to life
and privacy contained in constitution under Art. 21 and court had provided
compensation to rape victims.

-Two finger test, it’s like getting raped once again

In Lillu @ Rajesh & Anr vs State of Haryana AIR 2013 SC 1784, For the first
time, the Supreme Court in this case realized the agony and trauma of a rape
victim who had to go through two finger test give her character certification and
after analyzing through various precedents, held that it is violation of victim’s
right to privacy and dignity. Court held that medical procedures should not be
carried out in a manner that constitutes cruel, inhuman, or degrading treatment
and health should be of paramount consideration while dealing with gender-based
violence. The State is under an obligation to make such services available to
survivors of sexual violence. Proper measures should be taken to ensure their
safety and there should be no arbitrary or unlawful interference with her privacy.
SPECIFIC LAWS FOR WOMEN EMPOWERMENT IN INDIA
Here is the list of some specific laws which were enacted by the Parliament in
order to fulfil Constitutional obligation of women empowerment:
The Equal Remuneration Act, 1976.
The Dowry Prohibition Act, 1961.
The Immoral Traffic (Prevention) Act, 1956.
The Maternity Benefit Act, 1961.
The Medical termination of Pregnancy Act, 1971.
The Commission of Sati (Prevention) Act, 1987.
The Prohibition of Child Marriage Act, 2006.
The Pre-Conception & Pre-Natal Diagnostic Techniques (Regulation and
Prevention of Misuse) Act, 1994.
The Sexual Harassment of Women at Work Place (Prevention, Protection and)
Act, 2013.
Above mentioned and several other laws are there which not only provide specific
legal rights to women but also gives them a sense of security and empowerment.
Various Government Policies and Schemes-. The Government of India is
running various welfare schemes and policies, both at State and Central levels for
the empowerment of woman. Some of the major programs and measures include
Swadhar (1995), Swayam Siddha (2001), Support to Training and Employment
Programme for Women (STEP-2003), National Mission for Empowerment of
Women (2010) etc. All such policies and programs focus on social, economic and
educational empowerment of women across various age groups. Thus, there has
been no dearth of social, economic, political, legal and Constitutional efforts
made for the empowerment of women both prior to and post-Independence.
However, women in India continue to face atrocities such as rape, dowry killings,
acid attacks, human trafficking, etc. According to a global poll conducted by
Reuters, India is the “fourth most dangerous country in the world for women”.
Some of the major cases are enumerated below:
Air India Vs Nargesh Meerza, [(1981) 4 SCC 335]
This case deals with the women’s right to equality. In this case the Supreme Court
struck down the clause of retirement of air hostess on attaining 35 years of age or
on marriage within first 4 year of service or on first pregnancy as being arbitrary
and unreasonable and clearly violative of article 14 of Indian Constitution.
Sarla Mudgal Vs Union of India 1995, AIR 1531, 1995 SCC (3) 635
This case brought to lime light, the gross exploitation of personal laws of women.
In this instance, a Hindu male, married under the Hindu law, desirous of taking
on a second wife, converted to Islam. After the second marriage he reverted to
Hinduism. Second wife pleaded that she had no protection under either of the
personal law. In view of this case the Supreme Court directed the union
government to implement uniform civil code.
Tuka Ram And Anr vs State Of Maharashtra, 1979 AIR 185, 1979 SCR (1)
810
Popularly known as the Mathura rape case was an incident of custodial rape.
Mathura, a young tribal girl, was allegedly raped by two policemen on the
compound of Police Station. But the Supreme Court acquitted the accused, and
the decision resulted the big public outcry and protest, which eventually led to
amendments in Indian rape law via The Criminal Law (Second Amendment) Act
1983 (No. 46) .
Conclusion:
Empowering women socially, economically, educationally politically and legally
is going to be a Herculean task. It is not going to be easy to change the culture of
disregard for women which are so deep-rooted in Indian society. But it does not
mean that it is implausible. Only revolutions bring changes in a day, but reforms
take their time. This one, in particular, will take its time as well. The idea of
women empowerment might sound hard by the yard, but by the inch, it is just a
cinch. All we need is a concentrated effort focused in the right direction that
would rest only with the liberation of women from all forms of evil.
ALL THE BEST