Bhopal News: Supreme Court Asks National Judicial Academy To Draft Guidelines On Sexual Offences

Bhopal (Madhya Pradesh): The Supreme Court has asked National Judicial Academy, Bhopal, through its Director, Justice Aniruddha Bose, former Judge of this court, to constitute a Committee of experts.

Justice Bose will preside as chairperson, with four other domain experts as members, including practitioners, academicians and social workers.

The suo motu writ petition was registered following directions of the Chief Justice of India, based on a letter from the organisation “We the Women of India” and an SLP from “Just Rights for Children Alliance.”

A three-judge bench—Chief Justice of India Surya Kant, Justice Joymalya Bagchi and Justice N.V. Anjaria—heard a petition challenging a 2025 Allahabad High Court order. The order had held that grabbing a minor victim’s breast and breaking the string of her pyjama did not amount to an attempt to commit rape, but only “preparation.”

As per SC directions, the Committee of Experts will prepare a comprehensive report on “Developing Guidelines to Inculcate Sensitivity and Compassion into Judges and Judicial Processes in the Context of Sexual Offences and other Vulnerable Cases.”

The Committee will review previous judicial and administrative measures and their outcomes on the ground. It will also account for the nation’s linguistic diversity, identifying offensive words or expressions in local dialects that may not be widely recognised as criminal but affect victims’ experiences. Compiling these will help complainants provide a fuller narrative of trauma.

The Committee may seek assistance from other experts, including linguists, prosecutors, litigators, social scientists, and counsellors, as necessary.