New Delhi: After a long time, the nation saw a week that was full of action, so much that it changed the discourse of the society.
Dera Sacha Sauda chief Gurmeet Ram Rahim Singh was on Friday convicted of rape by the CBI court in Panchkula. This was not the only case which hailed the judiciary in India was celebrated by one and all over the last week.
In a landmark verdict, the apex court ruled in favor of the rights of Muslim women by striking down the instant, oral, unilateral triple talaq – Talaq-E-Biddat on August 23rd, 2017.
CJI JS Khehar headed a Constitution bench comprising of Justice Kurian Joseph, Justice RF Nariman, Justice UU Lalit, and Justice Abdul Nazeer.
The verdict ruffled few patriarchal feathers who struck a defiant note in the aftermath and the ripple effects of the verdict are sure to continue for long. The tears of victory rolled down the cheeks of petitioners and victims as they faced the brazen triumphant wind on the green lawns of the Supreme Court.
The joys did not stop at that. On August 24, 2017, the court ruled in favor of the Right to Privacy, giving people of the country the right over their lives and bodies.
The case was heard by Chief Justice JS Khehar; Justice J Chelameswar; Justice SA Bobde; Justice RK Agrawal; Justice Rohinton Fali Nariman; Justice Abhay Manohar Sapre; Justice DY Chandrachud; Justice Sanjay Kishan Kaul; Justice S Abdul Nazeer.
It was a 547-page judgment that declared privacy to be a fundamental right. This was a step ahead, as the Supreme Court overruled verdicts given in the MP Sharma case, which was in 1958 and the Kharak Singh case in 1961. The two cases were similar as they harped on the point that the Indian Constitution does not protect the right to privacy.
And now, on Friday, courts lived up to the spirit of Constitution and did not give in to the passions and threats. This time, a CBI court declared the verdict on Baba Ram Rahim, self-proclaimed godman, and head of Dera Sacha Sauda, charged with rape in 2002. The run up to his verdict was marked by angry and anxious followers camped on streets and threatened to resort to violence. The erupted in anger attacking media the moment the verdict was announced. Paramilitary forces were deployed to keep the crowd and crazy followers in control. The sentence will be announced on August 28.
This verdict by the competent and upright judge Jagdeep Singh, in the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) special court, wrapped up the week leaving the nation grappling with a bout of positive changes.
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