"Supreme Court issues new gender-sensitivity guidelines for trial court judges"
Secondary traumatisation
re-traumatisation of a survivor through insensitive institutional processes during investigation or trial
In-camera proceedings
closed-door court hearings held in private to protect a survivor's identity and dignity
The Indian Constitution guarantees equality and non-discrimination under Articles 14, 15, and 21, with Article 21 interpreted by the Supreme Court to encompass the right to dignity, personal safety, and freedom from re-traumatisation. The criminal justice system's treatment of sexual assault survivors has long been a site of constitutional concern: procedural safeguards such as in-camera trials, restrictions on character evidence, and the prohibition on two-finger tests have been introduced incrementally through both legislation and judicial pronouncements.
The Bharatiya Sakshya Adhiniyam (BSA), which replaced the Indian Evidence Act, retains provisions barring defence lawyers from asking indecent, scandalous, or annoying questions, and explicitly renders a survivor's prior sexual history immaterial to a rape trial — a principle first crystallised in the Mathura rape case aftermath and codified through successive amendments. Despite these statutory protections, trial court practice has lagged behind legislative intent, with moralistic language, victim-blaming assumptions, and aggressive cross-examinations persisting in courtroom conduct and written judgments alike.
The Supreme Court's institutional response to this gap has evolved over time. Judicial education through the National Judicial Academy (NJA) and apex-court-issued handbooks represent the two main instruments used to bridge the gap between legal text and courtroom reality. The 2023 Handbook on Combating Gender Stereotypes, issued under the then Chief Justice, was the most recent such effort before the present report.
The new report — titled "Judgments and Gender: Sensitivity and compassion in writing judgments" — was drafted by an expert committee headed by a former Supreme Court judge and now NJA director, and published in 2026. It represents a qualitative shift in the Supreme Court's approach to gender sensitivity: from linguistic correction to behavioural and procedural reform at the trial court level.
The 2023 handbook focused primarily on replacing archaic or stereotype-reinforcing vocabulary in judicial writing — substituting terms like "eve teasing" with "street sexual harassment", or "housewife" with "homemaker". Its limitation, as the apex court itself acknowledged, was that it operated at the level of language without addressing the structural dynamics of the courtroom that re-traumatise survivors. The new report, by contrast, was triggered by an analysis of 125 trial court verdicts and targets the moralistic, culturally-loaded phrases that recur in actual judgments — phrases such as "lost her chastity", "helpless female", or "the body of women as playground". …
With reference to Indian judiciary, consider the following statements:
1.Any retired judge of the Supreme Court of India can be called back to sit and act as a Supreme Court judge by the Chief Justice of India with prior permission of the President of India.
2.In India, any High Court has the power to review its own judgement as the Supreme Court does.
Which of the statements given above is/are correct?
Consider the following statements:
1.The 44th Amendment to the Constitution of India introduced an Article placing the election of the Prime Minister beyond judicial review.
2.The Supreme Court of India struck down the 99th Amendment to the Constitution of India as being violative of the independence of judiciary.
Which of the statements given above is/are correct?
With reference to the Supreme Court's 2026 report 'Judgments and Gender: Sensitivity and compassion in writing judgments', consider the following statements:
1.The report was based on an analysis of 125 trial court verdicts.
2.It recommends that trials for sexual offences be held in open court to ensure transparency.
3.It replaces the 2023 Handbook on Combating Gender Stereotypes.
Which of the statements given above is/are correct?
The concept of 'secondary traumatisation' in the context of the Indian criminal justice system refers to which of the following?
Which of the following provisions is/are contained in the Bharatiya Sakshya Adhiniyam (BSA) relevant to sexual assault trials?
1.Defence lawyers are barred from asking indecent, scandalous, or annoying questions.
2.A survivor's prior sexual history is rendered immaterial as evidence.
3.All rape trials must mandatorily be conducted by a female judge.
Assertion (A): The Supreme Court took suo motu cognisance of a 2025 Allahabad High Court judgment that classified certain acts of sexual assault as 'preparation' rather than 'attempt' to rape.
Reason (R): The Supreme Court's suo motu jurisdiction allows it to take up matters of public importance on its own initiative without a formal petition being filed.
Which one of the following is correct?
Want the full note, Prelims Facts & MCQ answers?
Create a free account — takes less than a minute.
Create free account