nil

India's daughter: SC seeks response from lawyers for comments on women

by IBNS 24 Mar 2015, 11:47 am

New Delhi, Mar 24(IBNS) The Supreme Court on Tuesday sought a response from two lawyers who had made highly controversial comments on Indian women in a documentary on the 2012 Delhi gang-rape.

The duo, ML Sharma and AK Singh, are defence lawyers for the four men on death row for the brutal rape and killing of a 23-year-old medical student in a moving bus in Delhi in December 2012.

Interviewed by British filmmaker Leslee Udwin for her documentary "India's daughter," Sharma had said "there is no place for women in Indian culture."

Both AK Singh and he made more comments on Indian women, their liberty and position in society that drew widespread condemnation. 

The apex court was responding to a petition by the Supreme Court Women Lawyers Association, which asked for a ban on the entry of the two lawyers.

"The comments made by these lawyers are biased, scandalous, inhumane and unjustifiable and these comments have caused sense of fear and insecurity among the women lawyers in the Supreme Court," the petition said.

 
While Sharma said his views were misrepresented, Singh claimed to have received phone calls in support of his views.

"India's Daughter" featured interviews of the student's parents, friends, lawyers and one of the rapists. The documentary was banned in India but was telecast by the BBC in the UK.