New Delhi: The Supreme Court has asked the National Judicial Academy in Bhopal to frame draft guidelines to promote sensitivity and compassion among judges, especially when adjudicating in cases of sexual offence.A bench of Chief Justice of India (CJI) Surya Kant and Justices Joymalya Bagchi and N.V. Anjaria asked Justice Aniruddha Bose, director of the NJA, to constitute a committee that would prepare a detailed report on such measures taken in the past before framing the draft guidelines.“After taking into account such previous endeavours and the variety of on-ground experiences faced by different stakeholders across the judicial system, prepare comprehensive recommendations. These recommendations shall be in the form of ‘Draft Guidelines for the Approach of Judges and the Judicial System When Dealing with Cases of Sexual Offences and other Similarly Sensitive Occurrences Involving Vulnerable Victims, Complainants, and/or Witnesses’,” the court said.According to the order, the committee will be chaired by Justice Bose and comprise four other domain experts.The Supreme Court’s order came during a hearing in a 2022 case filed by a woman accusing two men of attempting to rape her minor daughter.The top court had taken suo moto cognisance of an Allahabad high court judgement on the matter and set aside parts of the lower court’s order.A trial court had issued summons in the case under Indian Penal Code (IPC) Section 376 (rape) read with Section 18 of the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act’s Section 18 (attempt to commit offence punishable under the Act). However, the high court had reduced the charges to a lesser offence under Sections 354(b) IPC (assault or use of criminal force to a woman with intent to disrobe), read with Section 9/10 (aggravated sexual assault) of the POCSO Act.The high court had opined that the actions of the accused could not be seen as an attempt to commit rape, but as ‘preparation’ to attempt rape. The top court, while setting aside the order, restored the original summons and remarked, “There is no doubt that some action is required to be taken to inculcate and nurture an inherent sensitivity and discernment into the approach of members of the judiciary, as well as into the accompanying court procedures.”The court, while noting the high court’s insensitivity towards the minor girl in its judgement, said, “Various steps, in this direction [inculcating sensitivity], have also been taken by the constitutional courts of this country, from time to time, on the judicial as well as administrative side. It seems, however, that the efforts thus far have not borne the fruit that was expected.”Draft guidelinesThe court said the draft guidelines should use simple language that can be understood by the layperson.The court while laying out the task for the committee, said, “there are various examples of offensive words and expressions, the use of which would ordinarily constitute an offence under our penal laws, but they are openly spoken by members of our society in local dialects, ostensibly because of the absence of a clear understanding of the offensive nature of such saying.”The court asked the committee to “identify and compile such words/expressions so that they do not go unnoticed, and the complainants/victims are empowered to give a better and fuller narrative of the trauma undergone by them.”“The guidelines, we expect, will not be loaded with heavy, complicated expressions borne from foreign languages and jurisdictions. They must be contextualised in the real and lived experience of the stakeholders in the Indian judicial process, with direct reference to the ethos, values, and social fabric of our country,” it added.During an earlier hearing, CJI Kant had said that an earlier handbook on gender stereotypes published by the Supreme Court under former CJI D.Y. Chandrachud was too technical and “Harvard-oriented”.