"Judges should not preach": Supreme Court on Calcutta High Court order asking adolescent girls to control sexual urges

The Supreme Court on Friday took a dim view of the Calcutta High Court's comments on the need for adolescent girls to "control" their sexual urges instead of "giving in to two minutes of pleasure" [In Re: Right to Privacy of Adolescent]..A bench of Justices AS Oka and Pankaj Mithal today issued notice in a suo motu case registered to look into the matter, and observed that the High Court's comments appeared to violate the rights of adolescents under Article 21 (right to life and personal liberty) of the Constitution of India. .The Court termed the High Court's comments objectionable, irrelevant and unwarranted."Prima facie, we are of the view that while writing a judgment in such appeal, the Hon’ble Judges are not expected to express their personal views. They are not expected to preach ... many parts ... are highly objectionable and completely unwarranted. Prima facie, the said observations are completely in violation of the rights of the adolescents guaranteed under Article 21 of the Constitution of India," the Supreme Court added. .The top court explained that suo motu proceedings had been initiated as per orders of the Chief Justice of India due to the 'sweeping observations' in the High Court ruling.The bench proceeded to appoint Senior Advocate Madhavi Divan as amicus curiae to assist the Court in the matter. Advocate Liz Mathew was asked to assist the amicus. The case is set to be heard next on January 4..The Court took suo motu cognisance of the controversy on December 7, Thursday. In focus is an October 2023 order passed by the Calcutta High Court.In the said order, the High Court division bench of Justices Chitta Ranjan Dash and Partha Sarathi Sen of the High Court had advised young girls and boys to rein in sexual urges. Adolescent girls must control their sexual urges instead of "giving in to two minutes of pleasure," the High Court had added. .Adolescent girls should control their sexual urges; adolescent boys should respect young girls: Calcutta High Court.The same judgment also called for comprehensive rights-based sexual education for adolescents to avoid legal complications arising from sexual relations at a young age. The bench had opined that such sexual urges are created by one's own actions and that they are not normal or normative..The High Court bench had also proposed a 'duty/obligation based approach' and suggested that adolescent females and males have different duties. .For adolescent females, the High Court had suggested:It is the duty/obligation of every female adolescent to:(i) Protect her right to integrity of her body.(ii) Protect her dignity and self-worth.(iii) Thrive for overall development of her self transcending gender barriers.(iv) Control sexual urge/urges as in the eyes of society she is the looser when she gives in to enjoy the sexual pleasure of hardly two minutes.(v) Protect her right to autonomy of her body and her privacy..For adolescent boys, the High Court had held,"It is the duty of a male adolescent to respect the aforesaid duties of a young girl or woman and he should train his mind to respect a woman, her self worth, her dignity and privacy, and right to autonomy of her body.".The High Court had further emphasised the significance of guiding and educating adolescents about issues surrounding sexuality. Charity should begin at home and parents should be the first teachers, the High Court had said. Further, requisite sex education with emphasis on reproductive health and hygiene should be a part of the curriculum of every school, the High Court had added. .Advocates Astha Sharma, Sanjeev Kaushik, Shreyas Awasthi, and Anvita Dwivedi appeared for the West Bengal government.They sought time to find out if the State had filed an appeal against the High Court judgment..[Read order]