Sharad Arvind Bobde
An Indian judge suggested that the rapist marry his schoolgirl victim to avoid a prison sentence. It is reported by the newspaper The Guardian.
The defendant, who works as a technician in a state institution, is accused of stalking, tying up and repeatedly raping a girl. In addition, the man threatened to douse her with gasoline and set her on fire, as well as kill her brother. The Chief Justice of the Supreme Court of India, considering this case, offered the defendant “help”: if he marries the victim, he will escape punishment; otherwise, he will lose his job and go to jail.
The judge's words outraged the public. Thousands of people signed a petition demanding his resignation. The open letter says that with such a proposal, the judge actually “sentenced the victim to rape for life.”
Earlier it became known that in neighboring Pakistan they decided to abandon the practice of invasive testing for virginity of rape victims. The Supreme Court in Lahore has ruled that the derogatory practice is not scientifically or medically necessary, but is used to raise suspicion on the victim. So far, the court's decision will be valid only in the Punjab province.
