Belagavi woman assault: Karnataka High Court calls for collective responsibility to be fixed on villagers who stood as mute spectators

The Karnataka High Court on Monday condemned the "collective cowardice" shown by villagers who remained mute spectators when a 42-year-old woman from their village in Belagavi was publicly beaten and stripped because her son had eloped with a girl on the eve of her engagement to another. .A bench of Chief Justice PB Varale and Justice Krishna S Dixit opined that some sense of collective responsibility should be instilled in the villagers, and that the mute spectators should also be asked to pay an amount, like a tax, for the crimes of their fellow villagers. The Court also noted that this was similar to a practice adopted during the British colonial rule, particularly by then Governor General William Bentinck."Now, we are proposing, and my brother (Justice Dixit) reminded me of something in that nature in the British era - but if good things are there in British era, at times we only blame them for their wrong doings, why not take their good practices? So why not start something in the nature of something being in the collective responsibility of the village? State government is having some schemes. Why should it not be a lesson to all those who either the participants of the crime or unfortunately, silent spectators of the crime?" the Chief Justice orally observed. .He added that there could be an initiative put in place so that if such crimes take place and no one tries to stop it, the Gram Panchayat of the village could collect a payment in the nature of tax from "every individual of the village" because they were "mute spectators" to the crime. "Let there at least be some signal that in future it will not happen," Chief Justice Varale added. "Same thing was done by William Bentinck in history, if you see RC Majumdar’s Indian History. During Bentick's period, whenever arson or loot or robbery used to take place, he would identify the village from which the perpetrators came. Entire village was made to pay. Entire village would be punished because they allowed these things to happen," Justice Dixit observed. .The said suggestion was incorporated in the interim order passed by the Court today as well. In the order, the Court noted that in a village of around 8,000 inhabitants, 50-60 villagers stood by as "mute spectators" watching 13 assailants beat up and strip the victim. Only one person, Jahangir, came forward to help the victim, only to get beaten up himself, the Court further noted. "Among 50-60 people, only one person could gather the courage to rush to the rescue of the victim while others were merely mute or silent spectators to the incident. One may say that they were neither the assailants nor the offenders, but their inaction and maintaining their silence and remaining on the spot as mute spectators is nothing short of a passive abetment to the assault is our opinion. We have seen such unfortunate situations and it was at the level of permitting the culprits or the active assailants. But now time has come to give a very serious thought and a different angle to look into such situations," the Court's order stated further. The incident in focus took place pre-dawn on December 11 after the victim woman's son eloped with a girl from the same village, whose marriage had been fixed with another man.The 42-year-old woman is said to have been tied to a pole, beaten, stripped and paraded in the village after the girl's relatives came to know that she had run away from home.Police officers are said to have rushed to the spot to rescue the woman, after a villager tipped off the authorities.The High Court took suo motu cognisance of the incident on December 12..The Court today opined that solid steps must be taken to fix collective responsibility on the villagers to check on such incidents and prevent recurrences. The Chief Justice also commented that there is a social angle to why people were reluctant to report crimes, since the police and the judicial institution may appear intimidating to the common man. Agreeing with the observation, Justice Dixit added,"Police stations, subject to exceptions, they do not differentiate between the witness and the accused. It is very unpleasant for the people. The conduct of the police as such, perhaps judiciary also, does not generate confidence that people would be treated well ... 72nd police report says this. The collective cowardice, it is a social aspect. That should be addressed. Police should not mean police of British Raj!".Chief Justice Varale also referred to the need to teach boys and men to respect women. Children should also be trained to stand up for what is right instead of cowering away, the Court said. "We have to train our children that there is nothing wrong with helping somebody who is in difficulty. We have to stand up. It is not just Beti Bachao, Beti Padhao - it is also Beta Padhao. Unless you train (every boy) to see every woman as their sister, mother ... Unless you train your boy child (nothing will improve). It is for the boy child to learn to respect every lady. As you would protect your own sister, should you not protect every lady?" the Chief Justice remarked. ."From our hearts, we are telling, we would not have been mute spectators. What kind of cowardice? Where are we going? In schools in England, they teach the poem -Charge of the Light Brigade to instill confidence, Lord Alfred Tennyson. Where are our poems?" Justice Dixit added. .None to help Draupadi in world of Duryodhans: Karnataka High Court on public beating, stripping of woman.The Court also noted with appreciation the steps taken by the State government in the matter including the award of ₹ 5 lakhs (ex gratia compensation under a Chief Minister's scheme) and a piece of land to the victim as compensation. The Court ordered the State to hand over the possession of the land, free of any encumbrances, to the victim by January 2024. The Court was also informed that the victim is undergoing treatment to address her mental trauma as well and that such treatment would take around six to eight months. Further, the Court was informed that she would also be given ₹50,000 as interim compensation in line with an order passed by the District Legal Services Authority (DLSA). While the DLSA was slated to release only half the amount and keep the remaining in a Fixed Deposit for the victim, the Court directed that the entire amount be released immediately considering that she would be under medical treatment at least for the next six to eight months. The Court was also told that the probe into the case has been transferred to the Crime Investigation Department which it opined would need time to investigate the case. The bench noted that of the thirteen assailants, eleven accused have been arrested so far. Having taken these and other aspects into account, the Court posted the suo motu case next in the third week of January. .[Read live coverage of the case].Follow Bar and Bench channel on WhatsAppDownload the Bar and Bench Mobile app for instant access to the latest legal news.