A day after village panchayats in the district formed a 33-member committee to settle the November-28 molestation case of Sonepat sisters out of the court, the move got a backing from district and sessions judge Sushil Kumar Gupta on Saturday. There are no legal issues if society intervenes and decides to solve the matter at its own level, he said.
Addressing a press conference at his chamber in a local court here on the closing ceremony of an exhibition on human rights displayed by MDU professor Sumedha Dhani, Gupta said, "The accused were booked under Section 354 (outraging modesty of women) of the Indian Penal Code, which is a compoundable offence and it can be solved outside the court amicably. There were no legal issues in doing so for maintaining social fabric of society," said Gupta, when asked about his reaction to panchayats' efforts to solve the matter at a social platform.
There were two types of criminal cases - one that cannot be settled outside the court as they were state versus accused and there are others that can be solved amicably out of the court, he said.
Nearly a month after three boys of Asan village were accused of molesting the two college-going sisters, panchayats of Kansala, Humayupur and Baketa had held a panchayat on Friday to solve the matter amicably and formed a 33-members committee to work out a solution.
{{/usCountry}}Nearly a month after three boys of Asan village were accused of molesting the two college-going sisters, panchayats of Kansala, Humayupur and Baketa had held a panchayat on Friday to solve the matter amicably and formed a 33-members committee to work out a solution.
{{/usCountry}}Highlighting the issue of human rights, district and sessions judge Sushil Kumar Gupta said every individual's rights should be protected.
He added that the district legal services authority has been active in providing legal assistance to those who don't have money to fight their cases by visiting legal aid clinics set up in villages.
Gupta also lauded the MDU professor for setting up an exhibition on human rights as it was appreciated by people who visited courts for different purposes in last 15 days.