Supreme Court Slams Misogynistic Language In Judgments, Calls for Respecting Women's Rights

Supreme Court Slams Misogynistic Language In Judgements

The Supreme Court has strongly criticised a Bombay High Court judgement for using misogynistic language to describe a woman whose marriage was declared void, referring to her as an ‘illegitimate wife’ or ‘faithful mistress.’

The Court emphasised that every individual has a fundamental right to live with dignity under Article 21 of the Indian Constitution. It stated that using such terms violates a woman's fundamental rights and goes against the ethos and principles of the Constitution. The judges further noted that no one should use such derogatory language to describe a woman involved in a void marriage, expressing disappointment that such objectionable terms appeared in a High Court judgement. The Supreme Court concluded that the Bombay High Court's ruling was legally incorrect.

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Details About The Case

The court said as per Live Law, “Describing a woman by using these words is against the ethos and ideals of our Constitution. No one can use such adjectives while referring to a woman who is a party to a void marriage. Unfortunately, we find that such objectionable language is used in a judgement of the Full Bench of a High Court. The use of such words is misogynistic. The law laid by the Full Bench of the Bombay High Court is obviously not correct.”

According to a Live Law report, the Supreme Court also pointed out that the Bombay High Court had not used similar derogatory terms for husbands in void marriages. This observation was made by a bench comprising Justices Abhay S Oka, Ahsanuddin Amanullah, and Augustine George Masih while considering whether a spouse is entitled to permanent alimony under Section 25 of the Hindu Marriage Act, 1955 (HMA), even if the marriage is declared void.

Recently, the Supreme Court introduced the ‘Handbook on Combating Gender Stereotypes’ to assist judges and the legal community in recognising, understanding, and addressing gender biases in legal language. The handbook includes a glossary of gender-biased terms and suggests alternative, neutral language for use in legal documents, orders, and judgements.

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As per Live Law, in its ruling, the Supreme Court affirmed that permanent alimony can be granted to a spouse even if their marriage is declared void under Section 11 of the Hindu Marriage Act (HMA). The judgement, written by Justice Abhay S Oka, underscored this point while also criticising the misogynistic and derogatory language used in the Bombay High Court’s 2004 decision in Bhausaheb @ Sandhu S/o Raguji Magar vs. Leelabai W/o Bhausaheb Magar (AIR Bom. 283 (FB)). The Court expressed displeasure over the High Court’s characterisation of the woman in the void marriage, referring to her as a “faithful mistress” and “illegitimate wife.”

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