Written by Racheeta Chawla, Hamza Lakdawala
A sessions court in Kozhikode, Kerala on August 19 granted anticipatory bail to writer Civic Chandran in a case registered against him under Section 354A(2) (sexual harassment), Section 341 (wrongful restraint) and Section 354 (assault with criminal force to woman with intent to outrage her modesty) of the Indian Penal Code.
The said anticipatory bail order made headlines and received substantial criticism for the various observations it made about the victim. Not only does it carry sexist stereotypes, the order is also based on poor legal reasoning and flies in the face of settled law.
Delay in filing of an FIR does not vitiate the prosecution case
In its order, the Sessions Court observes that while the incident took place on February 8, 2020, the FIR came to be filed only on July 29, 2022. Further, the present FIR only came to be filed after another case came to be registered at the same police station. The Sessions Court remarks that that the complainant is an “educated lady who is fully aware of the consequences of sexual assault” and that no explanation has been forthcoming from her end as to why she was reluctant to file the complaint.
Read the full article HERE.
