Abstract

THE WOMAN WHO LOST HER WOMANHOOD: JUDICIAL DISCOURSE

ON SEXUAL ASSAULT AND RELATED STATUTES

Samyak Jain

Beginning from James Whites humble standpoint that judicial opinions become an excellent
substance for a law student to gain experience about the legal practices of the community, the
decisions coming out the Honble Supreme Court of India on rape and sexual assault present
to us a glorious text to apply literary devices and see what and who exactly is this woman?
The discourse surrounding the articulation of the female community not just in terms of the
offence committed but the very essence of a woman (or atleast in the opinion of the Court)
paves the way to see how heavily sexist and patriarchal the Court has been. This paper looks
at several Supreme Court decisions and views the judges as storytellers examines their power
to create and re-create a community and connects it with the statutory interpretation of
various statutes. In depictions of a womans truths and realities, as much as judges in India
are advised to be mindful of keeping passions out of their decisions, exploring these
passions in the judicial discourse on rape in India becomes a central point of this paper.

1 Student, B.A.L.L.B, Hidayatullah NationalLaw University, Raipur(C.G) Email- yashm1204@gmail.com