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Kerala HC stays transfer of Kozhikode judge who made ‘provocative dress’ observation
Kozhikode district sessions judge S Krishnakumar pleaded before the Kerala high court that his transfer was a punitive action that will affect the morale of judicial officers and deter them from taking free and fair decisions.
THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: The Kerala high court on Friday stayed the transfer of Kozhikode district sessions judge S Krishnakumar who stoked controversy last month through an observation that an offence under section 354A (sexual harassment) of Indian Penal Code (IPC) is prima facie not attracted if a woman was wearing “sexually provocative” dress.
Justice Krishnakumar had made the observation on August 12 while granting anticipatory bail to social activist and writer Civic Chandran (74), who has been accused of sexually harassing a woman seven months ago. A week later, the judge was transferred to Kollam labour court, prompting him to move the high court.
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The punitive action will affect the morale of judicial officers and deter them from taking free and fair decisions, the judge said in his plea in the high court. He also contended that the sudden transfer was against the normsstipulated by the Supreme Court and it was not in the interest of administration of justice.
A division bench of Justices A K Jayashankaran Nambiar and Mohammad Niyas granted an interim stay on the transfer order.
A single bench of the court had earlier turned down his plea.
During his observation in the sexual harassment case on August 12, justice Krishnakumar had referred photographs of the complainant produced by accused’s counsel, saying the images “reveal that de facto complainant is herself exposing to dresses which are having some sexual provocative one”.
“So section 354 (A) will not stand against the accused,” justice Krishnakumar, who took charge as the district judge of Kozhikode in June this year, said.
He also raised doubts on the woman’s complaint. “Even admitting that there was a physical contact, it is impossible to believe that a man having aged 74 and physically disabled can forcefully put de facto complainant in his lap and sexually press her private part So, it is a fit case wherein the accused can be granted bail,” he said.
The court also observed that “in order to attract section 354, there must be a physical contact and advances involving unwelcome and explicit sexual overtures”. “There must be a demand or request for sexual favours. There must be sexually coloured remarks,” it said.
Earlier, on August 2, while granting bail to Chandran in another sexual harassment and Dalit atrocity case, the judge said the accused was a reformist, and against the caste system and it is highly unbelievable that he will touch the body of the victim fully knowing that she belongs to the Scheduled Caste (SC).
In August, the Kerala government moved the high court against the sessions court order granting anticipatory bail to Chandran, contending that the judgment of the lower court “suffers from illegality and manifest errors” warranting its intervention.
Days later, the high court stayed the bail on the grounds that the order relied on “irrelevant materials” and that the “observations cannot be justified”. It, however, directed the police not to arrest the accused immediately considering his age and sought details of the case.
