India’s supreme judge is facing resignations after ordering an accused rapist to marry his schoolgirl victim to avoid jail.
More than 5,000 people have signed a petition demanding that Chief Justice Sharad Arvind Bobde stop after he told a government technician during a hearing: ‘If you want to get married [her] we can help you. If not, you will lose your job and go to jail. ‘
Bobde’s comments angered and urged women’s rights activists to distribute an open letter receiving more than 5,200 signatures resigning.
According to the letter, the accused is accused of chasing the girl, tying him up, gagging and repeatedly raping her and threatening to put her out in petrol, setting her on fire and killing her brother.
“By suggesting that this rapist with the victim-surviving marriage, you, the Chief Justice of India, tried to sentence the victim-survivor to a life of rape by the martyr who drove her to attempt suicide,” reads the letter.
India’s impressive record of sexual violence has been a focal point in gang rape and murder of a student in a Delhi bus since 2012. Victims are regularly subjected to sexist treatment by the police and courts, including being encouraged to marry their attackers in so-called compromise solutions.
The letter drew attention to another trial Monday during which Bobde allegedly questioned whether sex between a couple could ever be considered rape. “The man may be a cruel man, but can you name the act of sexual intercourse between a legally married man and woman as rape?” he said.
The letter from the rights activists states: “This remark not only legalizes any sexual, physical and spiritual violence by the man, but it normalizes the torture that Indian women have experienced within years of marriage, without any legal use.”
Marital rape is not a crime in India. Bobde did not respond to criticism.
His predecessor Ranjan Gogoi was the highest profile in India facing a #MeToo charge after being accused of sexual assault by a former staff member. He was cleared in 2019 after an internal investigation, which led to protests in the country.