SC panel to guide judges on sensitivity, compassion

19 FEBRUARY 2026

Over a year after a High Court judge used explicit language to narrate a sexual assault on a minor girl in his judicial order, the Supreme Court has assigned the Director of the National Judicial Academy, Justice Aniruddha Bose (retd.), to draw guidelines to infuse the qualities of sensitivity and compassion in judges, especially in the context of vulnerable cases.
The judgment was triggered by a petition filed by an NGO ‘We the Women of India’, about a March 17, 2025 order passed by a Single Judge Bench of the Allahabad High Court.
In a case of sexual assault under the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act, the Single Judge had concluded that the “pulling down of pyjama string” did not amount to an “attempt to rape” but only a lesser charge of assault or force on a woman with intent to disrobe under Section 354B of the erstwhile Indian Penal Code.