In a late celebration of International Women's Day, Chief Justice of India DY Chandrachud said that he would soon reveal a legal glossary of inappropriate gendered terms which are often used in legal discourse.
Speaking at an event organised by the Gender Sensitisation and Internal Complaints Committee of the top court, Chandrachud also said that the efforts to create a larger space to reserve for women lawyers in the apex court's annexe building were also in the pipeline, according to a report by LiveLaw.
While addressing the keynote, Chandrachud said that he hoped that the moves will help in breaking the presence of systemic barriers, and incidents of inappropriate behaviour, sexual and otherwise, targeting women.
According to the report, Chandrachud recalled an incident as an example of the terms, used for referring to women during legal discourse, that create a platform of discrimination.
“For instance, I have come across judgments which have referred to a woman as a ‘concubine’ when she is in a relationship. Women have been called 'keeps' in judgements where there were applications for quashing of FIRs under the Domestic Violence Act and Section 498A of the Indian Penal Code," Chandrachud narrated.
The CJI stressed that the purpose of eliminating these 'inappropriate' terms does not essentially target any judge or mean to "belittle" them.
Stressing that it was important to facilitate an understanding of “our problems within the mind”, he said, "Unless we are open about these facets, it will be difficult for us to evolve as a society.”
The legal glossary was prepared by a committee chaired by Calcutta High Court judge Moushumi Bhattacharya. Other people involved in the process included former judges Prabha Sridevan and Gita Mittal, and Professor Jhuma Sen who is currently an adjunct faculty member at the West Bengal National University of Juridical Sciences in Kolkata.
