Supreme Court orders national sexual offence guidelines

The Supreme Court has strongly criticized a recent Patna High Court judgment and directed all courts in India to follow new national guidelines for handling sexual offence cases. During a hearing on July 14, a bench led by Chief Justice of India Surya Kant expressed serious concern over the High Court's ruling that allegedly attempting to remove a woman's salwar and pressing her chest did not constitute an attempt to commit assault.

The issue was brought to the Supreme Court's attention by Senior Advocate Shobha Gupta during the hearing of a suo motu case examining judicial sensitivity in sexual offence matters. Gupta cited the Patna High Court's July 9 order, stating that such insensitive rulings continue to occur. The bench, which also included Justices Joymalya Bagchi and V. Mohana, indicated it would issue a detailed order examining the judgment closely.

Chief Justice Kant emphasized a need for greater judicial scrutiny, remarking that there appeared to be a lack of thorough research before such rulings are delivered. He stated that judges have a duty to research Supreme Court rulings on these issues.

The Patna High Court's controversial observations were made while...