NEW DELHI:     

Judges in Indian courts have one more book to refer to before they pronounce their verdict on cases they have heard. To be politically correct, the Supreme Court in its latest handbook has red flagged 40-odd words to sensitise judges against inadvertently furthering gender biases by using stereotypical words in court judgments.

Chief Justice of India DY Chandrachud launched the ‘Handbook On Combating Gender Stereotypes’ this morning. Flagging stereotypical words used in past court judgments, he said, “These words are improper and have been used for women in court judgments. This handbook’s objective is not to criticise those judgments or doubt them. This is just to underline how gender stereotypes are perpetuated inadvertently.”

Explaining how stereotypes may impact judicial decision-making, the handbook states, “Like any person, a judge may also unconsciously hold or rely on stereotypes. If a judge relies on preconceived assumptions about people or groups when deciding cases or writing judgements, the harm caused can be enormous.”

“Even when judges reach legally correct outcomes, the use of reasoning or language that promotes gender stereotypes undermines the unique characteristics, autonomy, and dignity of the individuals before the court,” it stated, adding, “The use of stereotypes by judges also has the effect of entrenching and perpetuating stereotypes, creating a vicious cycle of injustice.”

Listing several stereotypical words and their alternatives, the handbook stated that words such as “faggot” or “fallen woman” or “harlot” need to be done away with in court judgments. Instead, it said, judges should accurately describe the sexual orientation of the person concerned — homosexual or bisexual, use “woman” and avoid words such as “fallen woman” and “harlot”.

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The Supreme Court will hear on May 15 a plea against the Kerala High Court order refusing to stay the release of the controversial multilingual film “The Kerala Story”. Senior advocate Kapil Sibal on Tuesday mentioned the matter for urgent listing before a bench comprising Chief Justice D Y Chandrachud and Justice P S Narasimha, reports said.

When the bench inquired whether the high court has passed an order in the matter, Sibal said it has refused to stay the release of the film. “We will keep it on Monday (May 15),” the bench said. On May 5, the high court refused to stay the release of the movie and said the trailer does not contain anything offensive to any particular community as a whole.

The high court noted the producers’ submission that they do not intend to retain an “offending teaser” which contained a statement that “32,000 women” from Kerala were converted and joined a terrorist organisation. It said the Central Board of Film Certification (CBFC) has examined the movie and found it suitable for public exhibition.

The high court also noted that the producers have published a disclaimer along with the movie which specifically says it is fictionalised and a dramatised version of events and that the film doesn’t claim accuracy or factuality of historic events. “The Kerala Story” starring Adah Sharma was released in cinemas on Friday.

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The Railways should provide trains as and when the state governments put in a request, the Supreme Court said on Thursday in a series of orders to help stranded migrant labourers, whose plight has become one of the abiding images of the 60-day countrywide lockdown to control coronavirus. The railways, the court also said, will have to arrange for food and water for the migrants as long as they are on the trains.
The states, the three-judge bench said, will be in charge of overseeing the registration of migrant workers and ensure that they board a train or bus. They should also provide food and water to migrant workers who are stranded.
Migrant workers found walking home should immediately be taken to shelters and provided food and all facilities. Complete information should be publicised to all concerned,” the judges added.
The court also said that no fare for train or bus should be charged from the migrant workers. The fare will be shared by the states.
The court’s intervention came amid a huge political battle between the Centre and a few opposition-ruled states. Maharashtra, which has an especially large number of migrants, has been locked in a tussle with the railway ministry since the weekend. While the state has accused the Centre of not making trains available, the Centre alleges it has the trains, but the state has not done its homework or provided passengers.
Veteran lawyers Kapil Sibal and Indira Jaisingh pointed out that the Railways was only operating at 3 per cent capacity and at the current rate, will take three months to transport all migrants.
“According to 1991 census, the migrant labour was more than 3 crore. By 2020 the number should be about 4 crores. If they have transported 91 lakh people in 27 days, it should take another 3 months to transport the rest,” Kapil Sibal said.
The court — which had initially asked a series of hard questions to the Centre regarding food, funding, shelter and the entire logistics of transportation — said the major problem is the “transportation of migrants and providing them food”.
“The first problem is of transport. They are waiting for weeks even after registration. Are these people being asked to shell out any money at any stage? How is the state paying,” the judges questioned.
“We accept that it’s not possible to transport everyone at the same time. But food and shelter must be given till they can get transport,” the court said.
The Centre, after providing the relevant figures of trains run, migrants transported and meals provided, said, “A large number of steps were taken by the government and the Supreme Court was fully satisfied about it earlier”.
The top court had taken up the issue following questions over its refusal to act on the crisis and strong comments by the high courts of Madras and Andhra Pradesh.
Over the last weeks, a series of instances were reported of hungry and desperate migrants looting food carts at various railway stations across the country. Several migrants have died after being on the trains without food and water in the sizzling heat. Yesterday, a heartbreaking video of a child trying wake his dead mother had gone viral.
There have also been hordes of people who have been unable to get on trains. Thousands have been gathering outside Mumbai’s railways stations and turned away by the police as they have been unable to register themselves in a system marred by glitches.
Desperate, many have taken to the road, paying their last penny to buy a seat on illegal trucks and auto rickshaws. Others have just continued on foot, many of them collapsing close to home due to hunger and exhaustion.

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