Title: (Ir)relevance of gender in judicial decision-making: reflections on treatment of female murderers in India

Authors: Aishwarya Deb; Sanjit Kumar Chakraborty

Addresses: The West Bengal National University of Juridical Sciences, Dr. Ambedkar Bhavan, 12, LB Block, Sector III, Salt Lake City, Kolkata – 700106, West Bengal, India ' The West Bengal National University of Juridical Sciences, Dr. Ambedkar Bhavan, 12, LB Block, Sector III, Salt Lake City, Kolkata – 700106, West Bengal, India

Abstract: The Indian scholarship on female criminality reveals that most of the brutal crimes committed by women are due to stressful situations or past victimisation. However, what remains unchallenged in the existing literature is the formulation and actual application of criminal law, based on assumptions and sexist stereotypes about gender. The present paper not only focuses on the underlying notions of feminity and masculinity behind the application of criminal law but also the relevance of judges' gender in the decision-making process. The study draws parallels between the homicide cases decided by benches comprising of only male judges and the ones comprising of female judges or both, which are of course very few. While feminist critics believe that assessment of female killers by female judges might solve the discriminatory issues, this study illuminates that the gender of a judge hardly affects their understanding of a woman's lived realities unless they can imagine what it is like to live under the constant shadow of abuse or difficulties.

Keywords: decision-making; female criminality; gender; homicide; India; judges.

DOI: 10.1504/IJPLAP.2024.139537

International Journal of Public Law and Policy, 2024 Vol.10 No.3, pp.318 - 333

Received: 21 Feb 2023
Accepted: 04 Apr 2023
Published online: 03 Jul 2024 *

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