Why can’t a woman live in peace in this country: Supreme Court over growing crime against women

New Delhi: Irked over growing crimes against women, the Supreme Court bench on Sunday asked why can’t women live in peace in this country? The SC observation came when a bench headed by Justice Dipak Misra was hearing an appeal filed by a man who was sentenced to seven years in imprisonment by the Himachal Pradesh High Court for allegedly teasing and compelling a 16-year-old girl to commit suicide.

The bench which also comprised Justices A M Khanwilkar and M M Shantanagoudar, said, “No one can force her to love somebody. A woman has a choice to love or not to love a person. There is a concept of love and man has to accept it.”

Meanwhile, during the court procedure, the counsel, appearing for the man, raised doubts over the girl’s dying declaration, saying that as per the medical report, she was unable to speak or write after being hospitalised.

“The doctors said that she was 80 per cent burnt and it was not possible for her to write dying declaration. She was unable to speak also. Her both hands were burnt. This dying declaration has to go. She was not in a position to say or write anything,” Leading news agency PTI quoted counsel as saying.

Initially, the man was acquitted by the trial court in July 2010, following which the state had approached High Court. According to the police, the girl’s father had lodged an alleged kidnapping and rape case against the man in which he was subsequently acquitted.

Source: http://www.india.com