Chinmayi denied permission to protest clean chit for CJI

The singer, who has been instrumental in supporting the #MeToo Movement in Chennai, stated, “Firstly, we are not trying to protest against the Supreme Court. We are trying to protest the fact that Gogoi was given a clean chit. Moreover, the complainant hasn’t even been given the report of the case, which is absurd.”

Defending her attempt to stage a protest, she added, “All women who want to raise their voices or speak up against sexual harassment end up raising complaints and following the due process, but it goes nowhere. It ends up in favour of the predator if he is a person of power or of influence. If women don’t have any other place to go to, including the Supreme Court, then where do we go? Is this even a country for women?”

Black mark on judicial system

Such verdicts could altogether deter women from reporting crimes against them, felt Sandhiyan Thilagavathy, founder, AWARE India. “When a sexual harassment complaint has been filed against a person in power, the law seems to become pointless. Common man is easily prosecuted, but if a woman is up against an influential person, she gets revictimised. This can cause a reduction in the number of reports filed, and women won’t come forth because of this fear. They might think it will tarnish their family’s reputation. This verdict is definitely a black mark on our judicial system.”