Taking note of rampant sexual abuse of toddlers and children, the Madras High Court has wondered whether something was wrong with the society or with the psychology of men.
Observing that "the land of spirituality and divinity is somehow getting damaged or getting lowered to be called as 'Land of rapes'," Justice N Kirubakaran last week said, "Even toddlers or children are not spared by these brute beasts."
"Something basically is either wrong with the development of society or the psychology of men," the judge added.
The judge was holding trial through video-conferencing in a case before the Madurai Bench of the court, relating to the alleged gangrape and murder of a 60-year-old mentally challenged woman on November 10, 2016.
During the video-conferencing, the judge referred to the queries raised by him on December 15, 2017 and said they had to be answered by the Union Home Ministry and the Union Ministry of Women and Child Development.
The queries related to the increase in sex-related crimes against women and children, the judge said, adding that if the response was not filed by the next date of hearing, the respective secretaries of the ministries should appear before the court.
Similarly, the judge said if the queries posed to the home secretary to the Tamil Nadu government were not answered and if the affidavit was not filed by August 1, the government official had to appear in person before the court.
The court had earlier deprecated the rising sex crimes and asked the central and Tamil Nadu governments to explore the possibility of providing gadgets to women to prevent sexual violence against them.
The culprits in sexual violence could neither be termed as "human beings" nor as "animals", as even animals were noble in their own way, it said.
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