{"id":87701,"date":"2026-02-14T11:40:55","date_gmt":"2026-02-14T06:10:55","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/current-affairs\/?p=87701"},"modified":"2026-02-14T11:40:55","modified_gmt":"2026-02-14T06:10:55","slug":"supreme-court-revisits-gender-stereotype-handbook","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/current-affairs\/supreme-court-revisits-gender-stereotype-handbook\/","title":{"rendered":"Gender Stereotype Handbook Revisited: Supreme Court Signals Shift in Judicial Training"},"content":{"rendered":"<h2><b>Gender Stereotype Handbook Latest News<\/b><\/h2>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The Supreme Court has signalled a shift in its approach to gender sensitivity by moving beyond the 2023 <\/span><i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Handbook on Combating Gender Stereotypes<\/span><\/i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">, issued under former CJI D Y Chandrachud.\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Current Chief Justice Surya Kant described the handbook as overly academic and stressed the need for more practical, ground-level judicial training.<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The observations arose during a suo motu hearing of an Allahabad High Court ruling that had controversially termed certain acts\u2014such as grabbing a victim\u2019s breasts and loosening her pyjama string\u2014as mere \u201cpreparation\u201d rather than an \u201cattempt\u201d to rape.\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The Supreme Court had earlier stayed the judgment and, later, formally set it aside.\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The bench directed the trial court to proceed with attempt-to-rape charges, underscoring the judiciary\u2019s commitment to a more sensitive and legally sound interpretation in sexual assault cases.<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h2><b>Shift from Handbook to Institutional Training<\/b><\/h2>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">During the hearing, the Supreme Court questioned the practical utility of the 2023 Handbook on Combating Gender Stereotypes.\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The bench observed that the handbook relied on \u201cforensic meanings\u201d \u2014 technical or clinical interpretations \u2014 which may not reflect survivors\u2019 lived realities or common social understanding.<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">CJI Surya Kant described the document as \u201c<\/span><b>too Harvard-oriented<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">,\u201d suggesting it was overly theoretical and disconnected from India\u2019s ground realities.<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The Court noted that merely issuing a handbook to guide High Court judges \u201cserves no purpose\u201d if it does not translate into meaningful change.\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Instead of relying on advisory texts, the bench emphasised the need for structured institutional reform.<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h3><b>Role of the National Judicial Academy<\/b><\/h3>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The Court directed the National Judicial Academy (NJA), <\/span><b>Bhopal,<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> to constitute a committee of domain experts, academics, and lawyers to <\/span><b>draft practical training guidelines<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">.\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">These will become part of the NJA\u2019s curriculum for High Court judges.<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Once finalised, judges will undergo batch-wise training focused on handling sexual assault cases with sensitivity and legal clarity.<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Senior advocates have been engaged to assist in refining the new guidelines, ensuring they balance legal precision with survivor-centric sensitivity.<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h2><b>Inside the 2023 Gender Stereotypes Handbook<\/b><\/h2>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Released in August 2023, the 35-page Handbook on Combating Gender Stereotypes aimed to eliminate patriarchal language and biased reasoning from judicial decisions.<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">In his foreword, then CJI D.Y. Chandrachud emphasised that language shapes justice, warning that stereotypes distort the law\u2019s application to women.<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h3><b>Reforming Courtroom Language<\/b><\/h3>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">A major section of the handbook provided a glossary identifying \u201cIncorrect\u201d (stereotype-promoting) terms and suggesting \u201cPreferred\u201d alternatives.<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><b>Examples of Suggested Changes<\/b>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">\u201cAdulteress\u201d \u2192 \u201cWoman who has engaged in sexual relations outside marriage\u201d<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">\u201cEve teasing\u201d \u2192 \u201cStreet sexual harassment\u201d<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">\u201cChild prostitute\u201d \u2192 \u201cChild who has been trafficked\u201d<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">\u201cHousewife\u201d \u2192 \u201cHomemaker\u201d<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Avoiding terms like \u201cfallen woman\u201d or \u201cwoman of easy virtue\u201d<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">On \u201csurvivor\u201d vs \u201cvictim,\u201d it stated that both are valid but the individual\u2019s preference should be respected.<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h3><b>Challenging Judicial Reasoning Patterns<\/b><\/h3>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Beyond vocabulary, the handbook sought to dismantle stereotypes in judicial thinking, particularly in sexual offence cases.<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><b>Inherent Characteristics<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> &#8211; It rejected assumptions such as:<\/span>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"2\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Women are overly emotional or illogical<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"2\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">All women want children<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"2\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Young women cannot take major life decisions<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The handbook clarified that gender does not determine rationality or autonomy.<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><b>Gender Roles<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> &#8211; It challenged beliefs that:<\/span>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"2\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Working women are negligent mothers<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"2\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Women must be submissive<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">It reaffirmed constitutional guarantees of equality and dignity.<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h3><b>Approach to Sexual Violence Cases<\/b><\/h3>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The handbook addressed evidentiary misconceptions in rape trials:<\/span>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"2\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Clothing, alcohol consumption, or lifestyle do not imply consent.<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"2\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Lack of physical resistance does not equal consent.<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"2\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Absence of injuries does not invalidate testimony.<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h3><b>Judicial Precedents Cited<\/b><\/h3>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The handbook grounded its guidance in Supreme Court rulings, including:<\/span>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"2\"><i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">State of Punjab v. Gurmit Singh (1996)<\/span><\/i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> \u2014 Survivor testimony is inherently credible.<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"2\"><i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">State of Jharkhand v. Shailendra Kumar Rai (2022)<\/span><\/i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> \u2014 Banned the \u201ctwo-finger test\u201d.<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><b>Source:<\/b> <strong><a href=\"https:\/\/indianexpress.com\/article\/explained\/explained-law\/supreme-court-revisiting-gender-stereotypes-10527216\/lite\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">IE<\/a> | <a href=\"https:\/\/timesofindia.indiatimes.com\/india\/scs-gender-handbook-is-too-harvard-oriented-cji\/articleshow\/128176372.cms\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">ToI<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>The Supreme Court revisits the gender stereotype handbook, shifting from academic guidance to practical judicial training in sexual assault cases.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":18,"featured_media":87709,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[18],"tags":[5402,60,22,59],"class_list":{"0":"post-87701","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-upsc-mains-current-affairs","8":"tag-gender-stereotype-handbook","9":"tag-mains-articles","10":"tag-upsc-current-affairs","11":"tag-upsc-mains-current-affairs","12":"no-featured-image-padding"},"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/current-affairs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/87701","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/current-affairs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/current-affairs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/current-affairs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/18"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/current-affairs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=87701"}],"version-history":[{"count":4,"href":"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/current-affairs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/87701\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":87724,"href":"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/current-affairs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/87701\/revisions\/87724"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/current-affairs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/87709"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/current-affairs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=87701"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/current-affairs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=87701"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/current-affairs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=87701"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}