Activists, academics, politicians joined a social media campaign on Friday, to demand a hearing for the bail plea of two social activists who were sent to jail along with a gangrape survivor following an unprecedented order from a judicial magistrate in Araria in Bihar.
Bihar gangrape survivor granted bail
The Twitter storm was to mark 14 days since the two — Tanmay Nivedita and Kalyani Badola — were sent to police custody, followed by jail.
The arrest of the two members of Jan Jagran Shakti Sangathan (JJSS) was ordered by Judicial Magistrate Mustafa Shahi on July 10 at Araria District Court for allegedly obstructing him in his official duties as they came forward to help the survivor during the crucial evidence gathering process following her gangrape on July 6.. On July 17, the Chief Judicial Magistrate court ordered the release of the survivor but rejected the bail plea of the two activists.
Kamyani Swami of JJSS, the organisation with which the two activists were associated, says that their writ petition before the Patna High Court for the release of the support givers as well as a bail plea before the Sessions Court has been pending for a week.
“It’s 15 days in jail for Tanmay and Kalyani for standing with a gang rape survivor. Shouldn't the High Court ask: why no hearing for them so far? Shouldn't the Supreme Court worry: what message does it give to everyone?” tweeted Swaraj India’s Yogendra Yadav. Activists including Medha Patkar and Harsh Mander and several many feminist and LGBTQ voices participated in the campaign.
“Neither the gang-rape survivor nor her caretakers deserve to go through the indignity or horror that they have in the past few weeks! The higher judiciary should have by now pro-actively heard the matter and released them,” tweeted Meera Sanghamitra, rights activists and Convenor of National Alliance for People's Movement who was among the organisers of the campaign.
She told The Hindu that the treatment of the two activists contravenes the recommendations in the famous Justice Verma Commission report on the provision of support services to rape survivors such as shelter, social workers, counselors, mental health professionals, lawyers.
“Through our campaign we are appealing to the higher judiciary to take immediate cognisance of the matter. The case sends an unhealthy precedent by sending those who were helping the survivor to jail. By doing so the court is causing mental trauma to the survivor by separating her with her only support system as well as damaging the mental health of the social workers,” Meera Sanghamitra added.
