‘Why Did She Go Out At 11 PM?’, Asks Karnataka HC To Rape Victim, Grants Bail To Accused

Victim-shaming in cases of sexual assault is not an unknown concept for us. When a woman complains of having faced sexual assault or harassment, she is questioned regarding what she was wearing or why she was alone at night – as if it was her fault the incident occurred. To put a victim through this is nothing but disgraceful and insensitive.

In a similar case, a man accused of rape was granted bail by the Karnataka High Court because the victim had allegedly slept “after the perpetration of the act” as she was tired. The court claimed that it was “unbecoming of an Indian woman” to sleep after she is “ravished”, reports India Today.

The rape accused is a 27-year-old man and the victim is his employer. The victim alleged that the man developed physical relations with her on the pretext of marriage. One night, he accompanied her to the office, had drinks with her, and allegedly sexually assaulted her. The victim filed the complaint the next morning.

During the court hearing of the case, Justice Krishna S Dixit said:

“Nothing is mentioned by the complainant as to why she went to her office at night i.e. 11.00 pm; she has also not objected to consuming drinks with the petitioner and allowing him to stay with her till morning; the explanation offered by the complainant that after the perpetration of the act she was tired and fell asleep is unbecoming of an Indian woman; that is not the way our women react when they are ravished.”

“The version of the complainant that she was subjected to rape on the false promise of marriage in the given circumstances of the case is a bit difficult to believe at this stage,” the judge added.

The accused has been granted bail by the Karnataka HC with a few restrictions.

People on the internet are flabbergasted by the court’s decision! Here’s how they reacted:

Idk if this will effect y'all but this is the reasoning given by Karnataka High Court on the subject of granting bail to the rape accused.
(Imagine telling a women she isn't real victim of rape bc she did not react the way she is meant to)
Shame on judiciary! pic.twitter.com/m4vx4SwSnf

— Soshal Distan Singh (@soumyll) June 25, 2020

bro we gotta throw the whole fucking high court away now https://t.co/09kHWiIPod

— abhay (@dammitabai) June 24, 2020

Tw// rape, sexual assault

We have delhi high court which took so long to grant bail to a pregnant woman who simply asserted her fundamental right to dissent, and meanwhile the Karnataka HC sees no problem in granting bail to a rape-accused saying that his “liberty” is important https://t.co/OiqgTtdEtj

— Sowmz ✿ 🌈 (@dragonfudge) June 24, 2020

This news makes it worse
The HIGH COURT (yes in CAPS),questions the character of the women and says "Humare desh ki ladkiyan Rape hone ke baad aisa behave nahi karti!!!" Also this was bail plea where the COURT NEEDN'T even go into the merits of the case!!! https://t.co/smg9VCuLYZ

— Aakash Sethi (@AakashSethi17) June 24, 2020

The most disgusting statement I have read in a long, long time!

Unbecoming of the institution of law to pass such shameless judgments. #KarnatakaHighCourt #rape https://t.co/nz6O9oHs8z

— Murukesh Krishnan (@MURUKESHK) June 25, 2020

Karnataka HC, while granting alleged rapist bail, says it’s against our culture 4 “our women” 2 sleep after act. I’ve been searching for this book for ages & it seems it was in the High Court Judges’ library all along:

The Complete Manual on how Indian Women react after rape! pic.twitter.com/M9Yz4wHiyQ

— sanjoy ghose (@advsanjoy) June 24, 2020

Such kind of character-assassination and shaming of the victim is shocking, to say the least! What do you think of this incident? Tell us.

Cover Image: Source.