Speaking on the occasion, Dr. Charu WaliKhanna, Member impressed upon the audience mostly women lawyers on the sensitivity shown by Justice Gyan Sudha Misra towards gender justice, her being always accessible, amenable and her down to earth approach. As a result of which she had an in-depth understanding of the problems women face in accessing justice. Member, lauded the judgment in which the bench of Justice Gyan Sudha Misra asserted that repeated recording of the statements of rape victims / survivors resulted in over stretched trials and hence there was an imminent need to change this. The court has proposed that the statements of the victim and other witnesses in a rape case should be recorded directly before a judicial magistrate, eliminating the need of police to record such evidence. Since, presently, under the law, the statements recorded by the police are inadmissible and do not attach legal sanctity. Once the statements are recorded under Section 164 CrPC before a magistrate, they should be treated as deposition of the witnesses and hence admissible at the stage of trial.

The Member added that the vast knowledge and experience of Justice Misra has helped her understand and address the problems that women from vulnerable sections of society face in systems that do not recognize and accommodate their special needs i.e. women at the bottom of the pyramid- SC/ST women, sex workers. In this context notable is the judgment in the case of ‘Budhadev Karmaskar vs State of Bengal’ in which Justice Gyan Sudha Misra sitting on the Bench Court appointed a Panel on Rehabilitation of Sex Workers in India, in which Dr. Charu WaliKhanna has been assisting the Supreme Court. The Supreme Court Panel is delving deep into the issue and is come up with a wide range of recommendations not only on rehabilitation and reintegration of sex workers, but also on Anti Trafficking measures, the working of Anti Human Trafficking Units (AHTUs) and Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs) for safe migration.

Dr. Charu WaliKhanna bid farewell by saying that she was sure Justice Gyan Sudha Misra will not rest on her laurels but continue the struggle for gender justice even after demitting office and society shall benefit from her vast understanding of the nature, impact and inter section between gender and caste based violence.

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