‘Criminals Roam Free, Victims Live In Fear’: President Murmu Again Raises Concerns Over Women’s Safety

New Delhi: Four days after lamenting the country’s “collective amnesia” following horrific rape incidents, President Droupadi Murmu once again raised concern over lack of support from society for survivors of targeted crimes against women.

“It is a sad aspect of our social life that even after committing a crime, the criminals roam around fearlessly. Those who are victims of their crimes live in fear as if their own thoughts have committed many crimes. The situation of women victims is even worse because even the people of society do not support them,” President Murmu said in her valedictory address at the National Conference of the District Judiciary to mark 75 years of Supreme Court.

Murmu’s comments come amid outrage across India over crime against women, after the rape and murder of a junior doctor in a state-run Kolkata hospital, and more than a dozen cases of sexual harassment and rape against well-known actors in Malayalam film industry.

Pendency and backlog are big challenges to the judiciary, Murmu pointed out, highlighting the importance of ensuring swift justice, especially in cases of rape.

“When court decisions in cases like rape come after a generation has passed, the common person feels that the justice process lacks sensitivity,” the President stated.

Urging all stakeholders to work together and overcome the numerous challenges, she further said: “I am told that in recent times there has been improvement in the availability of timely administration, infrastructure, facilities, training, and manpower. But there is still much to be done in all these areas. I believe that there should be rapid progress in all the dimensions of reform.”

CJI’s Assurance & Suggestion

Chief Justice of India (CJI) D Y Chandrachud said that an action plan has been laid out for reducing case pendency through case management.

Justice Chandrachud endorsed the idea of a national-level recruitment process for judicial services of all states.

He said that the time has come to think of national integration by having recruitment to judicial service which crosses “narrow domestic walls of regionalism and state-centred selections.”