Lewd, Filthy, Indecent Questions To Prosecutrix In Sexual Assault Cases To Not Be Allowed By Trial Courts: P & H HC Directs Courts

The Punjab and Haryana High Court required its Registrar General to circulate to all the Presiding Officers/Designated Courts dealing with cases of Crime against Women, in the States of Punjab, Haryana and the U.T., Chandigarh, its observations against “a lewd, filthy and an indecent question put to the prosecutrix” in a rape case, which, the court said, could not have been allowed by the trial Court. Justice Arwind Singh Sangwan added that such conduct is in violation of the directions given by the Supreme Court in State of Punjab vs Gurmit Singh (1996), where the top court stipulated that while conducting the cross-examination of victims of sexual assault, the Court should be vigilant that defence counsel should not adopt a strategy of continuing questioning the prosecutrix as to the detail of the rape and the Court should not sit as a silent spectator while the victim of the crime is being cross-examined by the defence and it should effectively control the recording of the evidence to avoid her victimisation.