A general view of the Supreme Court.
| Photo Credit: Shashi Shekhar Kashyap
The Supreme Court on Friday (March 7, 2025) said women do not need sympathy but empowerment in society.
The oral observation came from Justice Trivedi, one of the two women judges currently serving in the apex court.
The judge was correcting a lawyer arguing for an accused in a sexual harassment case when the latter remarked that everyone’s sympathy was with the survivor.
“Women do not need sympathy. They need to be empowered. For that, we need strict implementation of the law,” Justice Trivedi addressed a senior advocate appearing for the accused.
The senior advocate immediately agreed with the judge, saying “ladies at home” definitely need to be empowered and it was being done.
Justice Trivedi said her remarks were not just about “ladies at home”.
The senior lawyer agreed again, this time adding “yes, ladies everywhere”.
The lawyer said the accused had been behind bars for seven months now. The case, from Tamil Nadu, was at best one of molestation with a simple injury on the neck of the survivor and not an attempt to commit murder.
The sentence had to be reconsidered, the lawyer argued.
The court said the mark on the neck of the survivor was not just a “simple” injury. Justice Trivedi said it was a mark of a strangulation attempt with a nylon rope. Two courts have confirmed the finding.
However, the court issued notice to the State on the limited question of sentence.
Published – March 07, 2025 01:41 pm IST