Bengaluru, August 9, 2026 (Yes Punjab News)
National Commission for Women (NCW) Chairperson Vijaya Rahatkar on Sunday said justice for women is a shared constitutional responsibility and stressed that justice must not only be timely but also inspire trust.
Speaking at the first South Zone Regional Conference on “Justice for Women”, Rahatkar said that while delivering justice is important, it is equally essential that every citizen feels that justice has truly been delivered.
She emphasised the need to ensure that heinous offences against women are not subjected to settlement or compromise. Rahatkar also called for greater judicial sensitivity in the pronouncement of judgments and urged that judicial language and terminology be used carefully to prevent secondary traumatisation of survivors of sexual assault.
She offered to consider the National Commission for Women as amicus curiae in appropriate matters concerning women’s rights and justice.
“The Supreme Court, as the custodian of the Constitution, is entrusted with protecting the rights promised by it. The Right to Life also includes the Right to live a dignified life. Therefore, the judiciary is also the custodian of women’s dignity and rights,” Rahatkar said.
She added that every time a court protects a woman’s dignity, it strengthens the Constitution. “A sensitive courtroom builds trust in justice. When the judiciary and other institutions work together, we move closer to an India where every woman experiences justice with dignity, equality and hope,” she said.
The two-day conference, which concluded on Sunday, was organised by the NCW in association with the Supreme Court of India, the High Court of Karnataka and the Karnataka Judicial Academy. It brought together judges of the Supreme Court, High Courts and district courts from across the southern region for deliberations on women’s access to justice, safety, dignity and the effective implementation of legal safeguards.
The conference was inaugurated on Saturday by Supreme Court Justice B.V. Nagarathna, in the presence of Rahatkar, Karnataka High Court Chief Justice Vibhu Bakhru and other judges of the High Court.
Justice Nagarathna highlighted the distinct nature of harm suffered by women and observed that perpetrators are often not faceless strangers but men on whom women may be financially or socially dependent.
Justice V. Mohana of the Supreme Court also underscored the importance of language in judicial decisions, saying that the words used in judgments shape legal culture, institutional behaviour and public attitudes towards equality. She stressed that the constitutional commitment to dignity requires not only fair outcomes but also a fair process.
The inaugural session also saw the release of the digital version of We the Women of India by Justice Jayant Banerji, Judge, High Court of Karnataka and president of the Karnataka Judicial Academy, and the book Breaking the Silence – A Complete Guide to Domestic Violence and the Law by Justice S.G. Pandit, Judge, High Court of Karnataka and president of the Karnataka Mediation Centre.
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