KOCHI: The government on Monday extended its support to the victim’s plea seeking to constitute a special court headed by a woman judge for the trial in the actor assault and abduction case.
In the statement, the Home department submitted: “Considering the special circumstances, the government is of the opinion that a special court may be constituted headed by a woman judge for the trial for a period of one year or until the closure of trial, whichever is earlier.”
The state government filed the statement in response to a petition filed by the victim challenging the Ernakulam Sessions Court order rejecting her plea for transferring the case to a court of woman judge for trial on the ground that there was no women additional sessions judge in the Ernakulam district. The petitioner said the provisions of the Criminal Procedure Code mandated that the victim of an offence of gang rape should not be compelled to depose and otherwise participate in a trial before a male judge.
This was to protect her privacy and dignity and keep intrusion thereon as minimal as possible. Even if an appropriate court presided over by a woman judge was not available within Ernakulam district, section 185 of the CrPC grants sufficient power to the government to transfer any case committed for trial to any other sessions court.
Plea adjourned to August 3
The Kerala High Court on Monday posted the hearing of the victim in the actor assault case to August 3 to ascertain the progress of setting up special court headed by a woman judge to conduct the trial. Senior Government Pleader Suman Chakravarthy submitted the government shall communicate its decision to High Court registry in the administrative side.