Raksha Bandhan means the ‘bond of protection’ in Sanskrit. That is why, every year, women tie rakhi around their brother’s wrist, symbolizing that he will always protect her and take care of her. That being said, sexual assault and crimes against women are unfortunately rampant in the country. Yet you would never fathom a situation where the abuser is compelled to turn protector. Yet, the Indore bench of the Madhya Pradesh High Court has planned a unique ‘Raksha Bandhan’ for a man accused of molesting a woman. The court has asked the man to get a rakhi tied by the complainant on the day of Raksha Bandhan, reports NDTV.
Not only that, the court also directed the accused, Vikram Bagri, to follow traditions and give Rs 11,000 to the woman and seek her blessings. Brothers usually give gifts or cash as part of a customary offering to sisters on this special occasion. The single bench of Justice Rohit Arya passed the order while giving conditional bail to the accused, reports India Today. The court said,
“The applicant, along with his wife, shall visit the house of the complainant with rakhi thread/band on August 3 at 11 am with a box of sweets and request the complainant to tie the rakhi band to him with the promise to protect her to the best of his ability for all times to come.”
The accused, who entered the 30-year-old woman’s house in Ujjain, was charged under section 354 (assault or criminal force to woman with intent to outrage her modesty) of the IPC. Vikram has also been ordered to give Rs 5,000 to the woman’s son to buy clothes and sweets. The high court also asked him to furnish personal bonds of Rs 50,000 and solvent surety of an equal amount for his release.
However, sexual assault or abuse is a traumatic experience for women. In such cases, wouldn’t it be better that the accused serves the given punishment? What do you think? Tell us in the comments below.