A married 26-year-old man, accused of molesting a woman, has been asked by the Madhya Pradesh High Court to get a ‘rakhi’ tied by her on the occasion of Rakshabandhan.
In an order passed by the court on 30th July, while granting bail to the accused, Vikram Bagri, the court also asked him to give ₹11,000 to the woman as part of a customary offering made by brothers to sisters on the occasion and seek her blessings.
The court’s order read:
The applicant, along with his wife, shall visit the house of the complainant with rakhi thread/band on August 3 at 11 AM with a box of sweets and request the complainant to tie the rakhi band to him with the promise to protect her to the best of his ability for all times to come.
All of this when Vikram Bagri has been accused of forcefully entering the 30-year-old woman’s house in Ujjain and molesting her. He has been charged under section 354 (assault or criminal force to woman with intent to outrage her modesty) of the IPC.
While we are still shocked at the decision of the court, netizens too are discussing how horrifying it could be for the woman.
Further the court has also asked him to give ₹5,000 to the complainant’s son to buy clothes and sweets.
I wonder if it’s really that easy to not only forgive the man who molested her but also tie rakhi to him. Also, what kind of precedent is our courts setting for men accused of molestation?
