CHENNAI: Idread coming to court when I have my period,” said 35-year-old S Jayalakshmi,* who has been visiting the Mahila court for several years now. “On most days, I can manage by sipping few drops of water every now and then so I do not need to use the restroom. But when I have my period, I go outside the court campus and visit one of the eateries so I can use a clean restroom. Isn’t it ridiculous to have such a huge court campus and one restroom that is locked? Or even if it is open, it is unusable because of the stench.”
Mahila courts were set up as specialised courts to dispose of cases pertaining to women and children to fast-track the judicial process. However, there are many obstacles coming in the way of a fair and comfortable trial — lack of basic amenities like access to clean drinking water, restrooms, availability of seating and the threat of intimidation from the accused.
Alleged perpetrators and victims often sit in the same room waiting for their turn. This not only provides the accused a chance to intimidate, but can also leave the victim scared and stressed. “In the Thiruvallur Mahila Court, once a mentally and physically disabled victim was made to sit in the verandah from morning to evening with the accused,” said Sherin Bosko, child rights activist and co-founder of the NGO ‘Nakshatra’. “It can be traumatising for the child. The Chennai Mahila court is victim-sensitive though. Children are made to wait in a separate room to ensure there is no chance of physiological trauma or intimidation.”
However, the same sensitivity seems to be lacking when it comes to women, some advocates and activists said. “A conducive environment for victims is lacking,” said Prasanna Gettu, managing trustee of International Foundation for Crime Prevention and Victim Care. “Most of the cases we deal with are of women who are survivors of domestic violence or sexual abuse. Since there is no place to wait, they often have to stand for hours in the presence of the perpetrator. There have been attempts at intimidation by the accused or their family and we have had women withdraw cases because of the mental toll it was taking on them.”
She added that there have been instances where victims have fainted upon seeing the accused. “When this happened once, we had to take the victim back. The court does not even have a basic medical kit to deal with emergencies. The constant delay in hearing only adds stress to the victim before a hearing.”The Mahila court is situated in the Madras High Court campus and has a large influx of visitors every day. Apart from the lack of seating facility, the absence of drinking water and functional restrooms add to the woes of visitors.
The court officials, however, rubbished these claims. An official working at the High court on condition of anonymity said. “Yes, restrooms are locked after court working hours but the rest of the time it is open for the public to use. We also have people to ensure it is hygienic and clean.”
*Name changed on request