The Supreme Court has created a "Handbook on combating Gender Stereotypes" to identify and eliminate the use of words and phrases loaded with gender stereotypes in decisions and court terminology, the Chief Justice of India, DY Chandrachud, stated on Wednesday.
"The purpose is to help judges and the legal communities identify, understand, and combat gender stereotypes in legal discourse. It includes a glossary of gender-insensitive terms and alternative words and phrases to use when preparing petitions, orders, and verdicts. It is for both lawyers and judges," CJI stated.
"The handbook identifies common stereotypes held by women, many of which have previously been used by courts, and demonstrates why they are incorrect and how they may distort the application of the law. The goal is not to criticise or throw doubt on judgements but rather to demonstrate how stereotypes might be unknowingly deployed. The handbook aims to explain what stereotypes are in order to raise awareness against the use of harmful stereotypes, particularly those against women," CJI noted.
"It assists judges in identifying and avoiding such stereotypes by, first, identifying language that promotes gender stereotypes and providing alternative words and phrases; and, second, identifying common reasoning patterns based on gender stereotypes, particularly about women. And third, underlining Supreme Court binding decisions that have rejected these stereotypes," CJI explained.
The handbook has been uploaded in the Supreme Court website today. It is available here.
The manual on gender stereotypes was previously disclosed by CJI Chandrachud while addressing at a public event in March of this year. “For instance, when a woman is in a relationship, I have seen judgements that refer to her as a ‘concubine’. Similar to this, women have been referred to as ‘keeps’ in court decisions involving requests to throw out FIRs filed in accordance with the Domestic Violence Act and Section 498A of the Indian Penal Code,” the CJI had it then.
Chief Justice Chandrachud said at the time that a team led by Calcutta High Court judge Moushumi Bhattacharya had created the legal vocabulary. Former judges Prabha Sridevan and Gita Mittal, as well as Jhuma Sen, an advocate for the Calcutta High Court and Supreme Court who also serves as an adjunct faculty member at the West Bengal National University of Judicial Sciences in Kolkata, were also involved in the process.
