NEW DELHI: Voicing serious concern over the vulnerability a girl child faces in the digital era due to online harassment, cyberbullying and digital stalking and deepfake imagery, the Chief Justice of India (CJI) B R Gavai on Saturday called for the enactment of specialised statutes and training of law enforcers and decision makers.
The CJI said this, while speaking at the national annual stakeholders consultation on "Safeguarding the Girl Child: Towards a Safer and Enabling Environment for Her in India."
"The protection of the girl child must be a core priority of digital governance. Laws dealing with online sexual exploitation, digital trafficking, and cyber harassment must be paired with effective enforcement, education and awareness initiatives," said CJI Gavai.
The CJI highlighted that safety cannot exist where dignity is denied, voices are silenced, or dreams are constrained by circumstance, He also added that the collective conscience of a nation is measured by how it treats its most vulnerable, and therefore the strength and destiny of a nation are inextricably linked to the well-being and empowerment of its daughters.
The CJI stressed to secure girl child's safety is not merely to protect her body, but to free her spirit. "To create a society where she can hold her head high in dignity and where her aspirations are nourished by education and equality ... We must confront and overcome the deep-rooted patriarchal customs that continue to deny girls their rightful place," he underlined.
Justice Gavai also spoke on the issue of the vulnerability the girl child faces, and exposed them to disproportionately high risks of sexual abuse, exploitation and harmful practices such as female genital mutilation, malnutrition, sex-selective abortions, trafficking and child marriage against their will. "There is a need for a deeper examination of the social, economic and cultural barriers that continue to impede girls' lives," he pointed out.
The CJI Gavai questioned that lawyers should not be reluctant to hire women because of assumptions about maternity leave, time constraints, or perceived 'commitment issues'. "Such biases are unfair and counterproductive. Lawyers have a duty to ensure that the principles they advocate in court and in public life are reflected in their own workplaces and professional conduct," he added.
The CJI said that lawyers and judges share additional common goals in strengthening the justice system. "We must ensure that the legal system and legal discourse do not remain confined to metropolitan cities, but are accessible to every citizen, even those living in the remotest corners of the country. Inclusion is achieved only when the common person can understand, relate to, and feel connected with the legal processes, the exchanges between lawyer and judge, the judgments delivered, and the mechanisms of justice itself," he pointed out.
The CJI—while quoting Rabindranath Tagore’s “Where the Mind is Without Fear”—said India’s dream of true freedom will remain incomplete “as long as any girl in the country lives in fear of violence, discrimination, or denial of opportunity.”
The CJI, taking his own example, as how he was born into a low-caste family, said that that did not mean that he was born untouchable. "The Constitution recognised my dignity as equal to that of every other citizen, offering not just protection, but the promise of opportunity, freedom, and social recognition,” the CJI said.
Reminding his own lawyer's days, he said, he once represented an individual from a low-caste community in which no one had ever become a doctor. The appointment he sought was more than just a routine claim. It was a breakthrough for him and for his entire community.
"I was able to help secure his appointment, and what may have seemed like an ordinary case to some became a milestone of progress and hope. For that individual, it was a new beginning; for his community, it was a journey toward possibility. One person's achievement can inspire thousands, showing how access to opportunity can transform lives and communities.
