"Testimony of disabled prosecutrix cannot be considered inferior:" Supreme Court lays down guidelines to make justice system disabled-friendly

In a judgment of significant import, the Supreme Court on Tuesday ruled that testimony of a prosecutrix with disability or of a disabled witness cannot be considered weak or inferior only because such an individual interacts with the world in a different manner, vis-a-vis their able-bodied counterparts (Patan Jamal Vali v. State of Andhra Pradesh)..As long as the testimony of such a witness otherwise meets the criteria for inspiring judicial confidence, it is entitled to full legal weight, the Court held.."It goes without saying that the court appreciating such testimony needs to be attentive to the fact that the witness’ disability can have the consequence of the testimony being rendered in a different form, relative to that of an able-bodied witness," the Court said. .A Bench of Justices DY Chandrachud and MR Shah also issued a slew of guidelines to effectively address the discrimination against disabled persons and to make the judicial system more disabled-friendly:.The Bench was considering an appeal by an accused convicted of raping a blind girl in 2011 belonging to a Scheduled Caste community. The accused was sentenced to life imprisonment after being charged under Section 376 IPC and Section 3(2)(v) of the Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes (Prevention of Atrocities) Act, 1989. .The Sessions Court had convicted the appellant and High Court upheld the conviction in 2019.The top court used the case as a launching point to explore a disturbing trend of sexual violence against women and girls with disabilities..The two-judge bench gave the following to make India's criminal justice system more disabled-friendly:.(i) The National Judicial Academy and state judicial academies should sensitize trial and appellate judges to deal with cases involving survivors of sexual abuse.This training should acquaint judges with the special provisions, concerning such survivors, such as those outlined above. It should also cover guidance on the legal weight to be attached to the testimony of such witnesses/survivors, consistent with our holding above.Public prosecutors and standing counsel should also undergo similar training in this regard. The Bar Council of India can consider introducing courses in the LL.B program that cover these topics and the intersectional nature of violence more generally..(ii) Trained special educators and interpreters must be appointed to ensure the effective realization of the reasonable accommodations embodied in the Criminal Law Amendment Act, 2013. All police stations should maintain a database of such educators, interpreters and legal aid providers, in order to facilitate easy access and coordination..(iii) The National Crimes Record Bureau should seriously consider the possibility of maintaining dis-aggregated data on gender-based violence. Disability must be one of the variables on the basis of which such data must be maintained so that the scale of the problem can be mapped out and tailored remedial action can be taken..(iv) Police officers should be provided sensitization, on a regular basis, to deal with cases of sexual violence against women with disabilities, in an appropriate way. This training should emphasize the importance of interacting directly with the disabled person concerned, as opposed to their care-taker or helper, in recognition of their agency; and.(v) Awareness-raising campaigns must be conducted, in accessible formats, to inform women and girls with disabilities, about their rights when they are at the receiving end of any form of sexual abuse..In the instant case, the blindness of the victim meant that she had no visual contact with the world. "Her primary mode of identifying those around her, therefore, is by the sound of their voice. And so her testimony is entitled to equal weight as that of a prosecutrix who would have been able to visually identify the appellant," the Court ruled..It, therefore, upheld the conviction and sentence under Section 376 IPC but acquitted him of the offence the SC/ST Act since the prosecution had not led evidence to prove that the prosecutrix's caste was one of the ground for commission of offence..[Read Judgment]