There are moments when clinical legalism can obscure human suffering. In March 2025, a ruling by the Allahabad High Court in a POCSO case served as a chilling reminder. The case involved a 14-year-old girl subjected to a harrowing sexual assault after being lured onto a motorcycle. The accused broke the string of the girl’s pyjama to “bring down” the garment and groped her. Yet, the High Court characterized these acts as “mere preparation” rather than an “attempted rape.” The Supreme Court swiftly intervened, setting aside the order and describing the reasoning as reflective of a “totally insensitive and inhuman approach.”

Recognising that earlier attempts at sensitising the judiciary had not produced the expected results, the Court asked the National Judicial Academy to constitute an expert committee to examine what had worked, what had failed, and on-ground experiences. Its task was to improve courtroom terminology and help move them beyond procedural compliance towards an approach that places human dignity at the heart of judicial reasoning.

The resulting 2026 handbook titled Judgments and Gender: Sensitivity and Compassion in Writing Judgments recognises........

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