Bengaluru, Aug 8 Supreme Court judge Justice B V Nagarathna on Saturday advocated for providing legal aid to women immediately after an incident while flagging recent amendments in Karnataka that have curtailed the High Court’s jurisdiction over regular first appeals.
She was speaking after inaugurating a two-day South Zone Regional Conference on “Justice for Women”, organised by the National Commission for Women in association with the High Court of Karnataka and the Karnataka Judicial Academy.
Addressing the gathering, she suggested that legal aid must be provided immediately after an incident, either at police stations or in hospitals.
“There must be a more structured framework which must be established so that the synergies between the State Legal Services Authorities, right up to the taluk level, and the primary health centres, government hospitals in villages, and police stations are there,” she said.
Justice Nagarathna also recommended that a study be conducted on the efficacy of legal aid in terms of outcomes, rather than merely the number of beneficiaries who have received legal aid.
She said paralegal volunteers must be available at short notice so that quick remedies can be provided to women.
Citing data furnished by the National Legal Services Authority (NALSA), she said 4,14,795 women availed themselves of legal aid between April 2025 and March 2026, describing the figure as “laudable”.
As the Chairperson of the Supreme Court Legal Services Committee, she suggested that whenever cases are decided by the High Court through legal aid, a communication should be sent to the Supreme Court Legal Services Committee so that, in case any of the losing parties wishes to approach the Supreme Court, there is advance information.
Flagging an issue concerning Karnataka, she said recent amendments to the Karnataka Civil Courts Amendment Act, 2023, and the Karnataka High Court Amendment Act, 2023, had “denuded” the High Court of its jurisdiction to hear first appeals.
Under the amended arrangement, a judgment and decree passed by a Civil Judge (Senior Division) is appealable before a district court and not the High Court, she said.
Justice Nagarathna questioned how women aggrieved by findings of fact, including disputes over whether property is joint family or separate property, could approach the Supreme Court under Article 136.
“How many women in Karnataka can approach the Supreme Court? I wonder why the government of Karnataka has denuded the High Court of its jurisdiction with regard to regular first appeals,” she said.
Pointing out that this interferes with the HC’s independence in deciding matters and disadvantages women litigants, she said even men litigants were disadvantaged in the state compared to other parts of the country.
She appealed to the state government and the Advocate General to ensure that the provision is rectified and repealed.
“Let the women of Karnataka not face a disadvantage, because on a question of fact they would have to approach the Supreme Court, and only on a substantial question of law, they would have to approach the High Court under Section 100,” she added.
Justice Nagarathna also called for interim victim compensation to ordinarily be provided at the stage of filing of the charge sheet to help victims meet medical and legal expenses.
“The usual bottlenecks that cause delays in the disbursement of compensation must be identified and rooted out,” she said.
Citing National Crime Records Bureau data, she pointed out that 4,41,534 cases of crimes against women were registered in 2024 and said the conviction rate was only one in every five cases, while over two lakh cases remained pending despite the existence of fast-track and special courts.
“My submission is how fast and how best we can grant relief to the women victims through these courts,” she said, urging the National Commission for Women to undertake a study on the disbursement and utilisation of the Nirbhaya Fund across states and Union Territories.
Justice Nagarathna highlighted the need to prevent revictimisation and stigmatisation of women survivors during trials and wanted judicial academies to sensitise judicial officers about stereotypes, prejudices and the language used while recording evidence and writing judgments.
“Cybercrime complaints involving women have risen from roughly 50,000 in 2024 to close to 80,000 this year,” she said, stressing that the permanence of material uploaded on the internet could make restitution difficult.
Justice Nagarathna also stressed the need to publicise existing mechanisms, including women’s helplines, cybercrime reporting systems and the national legal aid helpline, so that victims could take prompt action and protect their rights and interests.
“Women who are categorised or marginalised on account of caste, disability, neurodivergence, and regional disparities must be taken into consideration. Specific interventions may be required to achieve the same outcomes for different groups of women,” she said.
At the event, Karnataka Chief Justice Vibhu Bakhru said technology has emerged as both an instrument of empowerment and a weapon of abuse, with cyber stalking, deepfake imagery, online sexual harassment, revenge pornography and other technology-facilitated forms of gender-based violence creating new challenges for women's safety.
He said artificial intelligence, while opening new avenues for innovation, had also created new forms of gender-based abuse through deepfakes, impersonation and online exploitation, underscoring the need for the justice system and institutions to respond effectively to these emerging threats.
