Women and Criminal Procedure

Abstract

It is generally believed that criminal law is gender biased. To a certain extent it is true. In the process of its evolution, it appears that the criminal law system has kept 'reasonable -man' in view as its basic unit. This much is evident from the present practice also. Even today the 'reasonable man' creeps into the mind of the judge while appraising the evidence or while evaluating the conduct of the accused towards the victim. The 'reasonable man' standard came to be accepted as the yardstick by the criminal law, probably in its anxiety to achieve objectivity. But many a time the law is not in a position to achieve objectivity as the objective criteria get submerged by the subjective criteria of individual judges.