Gender-Blind and Pro-Gender Judgments: Domestic Violence Cases and India’s Supreme Court

• In Event: 041 - Regular Session. Violence

Abstract

Women’s movements across the world have target the state demanding legal reforms to address the rising violence against women. The law making process – from formulation to interpretation and enforcement - involves multiple institutions of the state. In this paper, we trace the language and interests of the state via domestic violence related laws. Legal texts are embedded with cultural meanings, values, and social practices that breathe life into the law. The content of the law and the interpretation of those laws within the court rooms are critical in the judicial process. Using archival data on 164 domestic violence cases in India for the period 1995-2011, we examine how the Supreme Court in India interprets domestic violence laws. Case decisions were systematically coded and the themes within two broad categories - and gender-blind judgments and pro-gender judgments – are analyzed. Our analysis has three main implications. First, it brings to forefront the variability in gender perspective in the judiciary, even when it is predominantly male. Second, it points to the success of the Indian women’s movement in bringing dowry related violence to the forefront as the court is critical of the practice of dowry unambiguously. Third, the absence of a gender perspective in framing the problem of violence may influence the interpretation of the law in the court. Including a gender perspective within the judicial system may need an engagement not just with the law but also with the structure of the legal system.

Authors

• Preethi Krishnan, Purdue University

• Mangala Subramaniam, Purdue University