The Crossbill News Desk
Former Madhya Pradesh High Court judge Rohit Arya joined the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) on Saturday, (July 13), Bar and Bench reported. His decision comes nearly three months after his retirement from the judiciary.
Arya was inducted into the saffron party by its state chief Raghavendra Sharma at the party office in Bhopal.
Justice Arya confirmed his joining of the BJP to Live Law on Sunday. He said “Yes, I have joined the BJP. On Saturday, @BJP4MP invited me to an event/seminar in Bhopal, where I praised three new Criminal laws. During the program, the party members urged me to get associated with the BJP. I was overwhelmed, and I didn’t say no,” Live Law quoted him as saying.
“A judge is a human being, too. Once he retires, he has a life and can express his viewpoints; there is nothing wrong with it. Yes, a judge, while on his chair, must ensure that he adopts a non-partisan viewpoint,” Arya told Live Law.
Justice Arya was appointed to the Madhya Pradesh High Court on September 12, 2013, and became a permanent judge on March 26, 2015.
His practice as an advocate focused on civil law, commercial law, arbitration, administrative law, service law, labour law and tax law, Bar and Bench reported.
Justice Rohit Arya, The Controversies
Justice Arya is notably remembered for his bizarre verdict in July 2020, where he granted bail to a 26-year-old man accused of molesting a woman. As a condition of bail, Justice Arya mandated that the accused would request the woman to tie a ‘rakhi’ on him. Additionally, the verdict required the man to promise to protect her "to the best of his ability for all times to come." Moreover, Justice Arya directed the accused to pay Rs 11,000 to the woman, as a “customary ritual usually offered by brothers to sisters” for Raksha Bandhan, seek her blessings while visiting her with his wife, bring her a box of sweets, and pay a give Rs 5,000 to the son of the complainant to buy clothes and sweets.
The Supreme Court criticized Justice Arya's verdict, condemning its use of patriarchal and stereotypical reasoning and language. The apex court emphasized that such approaches diminish sexual crimes and tend to trivialize the experiences of survivors, stressing that such attitudes should be avoided under all circumstances.
“Using rakhi tying as a condition for bail, transforms a molester into a brother, by a judicial mandate. This is wholly unacceptable, and has the effect of diluting and eroding the offence of sexual harassment. The act perpetrated on the survivor constitutes an offence in law, and is not a minor transgression that can be remedied by way of an apology, rendering community service, tying a rakhi or presenting a gift to the survivor, or even promising to marry her, as the case may be,” the Supreme Court said, as per a report.
In January 2021, Justice Arya rejected the bail plea of standup comedian Munawar Faruqui, which subsequently led to his arrest, based on accusations made by BJP that his show contained elements that hurt could religious sentiments, even before the show took place.
The former judge had once also “scolded a law school student for drinking water from his bottle in the courtroom, saying it’s not a cafeteria”. This information was shared by Journalist Mohammed Zubair on his X handle.
Arya was inducted into the saffron party by its state chief Raghavendra Sharma at the party office in Bhopal.
Justice Arya confirmed his joining of the BJP to Live Law on Sunday. He said “Yes, I have joined the BJP. On Saturday, @BJP4MP invited me to an event/seminar in Bhopal, where I praised three new Criminal laws. During the program, the party members urged me to get associated with the BJP. I was overwhelmed, and I didn’t say no,” Live Law quoted him as saying.
“A judge is a human being, too. Once he retires, he has a life and can express his viewpoints; there is nothing wrong with it. Yes, a judge, while on his chair, must ensure that he adopts a non-partisan viewpoint,” Arya told Live Law.
Justice Arya was appointed to the Madhya Pradesh High Court on September 12, 2013, and became a permanent judge on March 26, 2015.
His practice as an advocate focused on civil law, commercial law, arbitration, administrative law, service law, labour law and tax law, Bar and Bench reported.
Justice Rohit Arya, The Controversies
Justice Arya is notably remembered for his bizarre verdict in July 2020, where he granted bail to a 26-year-old man accused of molesting a woman. As a condition of bail, Justice Arya mandated that the accused would request the woman to tie a ‘rakhi’ on him. Additionally, the verdict required the man to promise to protect her "to the best of his ability for all times to come." Moreover, Justice Arya directed the accused to pay Rs 11,000 to the woman, as a “customary ritual usually offered by brothers to sisters” for Raksha Bandhan, seek her blessings while visiting her with his wife, bring her a box of sweets, and pay a give Rs 5,000 to the son of the complainant to buy clothes and sweets.
The Supreme Court criticized Justice Arya's verdict, condemning its use of patriarchal and stereotypical reasoning and language. The apex court emphasized that such approaches diminish sexual crimes and tend to trivialize the experiences of survivors, stressing that such attitudes should be avoided under all circumstances.
“Using rakhi tying as a condition for bail, transforms a molester into a brother, by a judicial mandate. This is wholly unacceptable, and has the effect of diluting and eroding the offence of sexual harassment. The act perpetrated on the survivor constitutes an offence in law, and is not a minor transgression that can be remedied by way of an apology, rendering community service, tying a rakhi or presenting a gift to the survivor, or even promising to marry her, as the case may be,” the Supreme Court said, as per a report.
In January 2021, Justice Arya rejected the bail plea of standup comedian Munawar Faruqui, which subsequently led to his arrest, based on accusations made by BJP that his show contained elements that hurt could religious sentiments, even before the show took place.
The former judge had once also “scolded a law school student for drinking water from his bottle in the courtroom, saying it’s not a cafeteria”. This information was shared by Journalist Mohammed Zubair on his X handle.
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