Allahabad High Court circulates the Supreme Court's 'Judgments and Gender' handbook to all UP judges

The Allahabad High Court has circulated to all district and sessions judges, family courts, commercial courts and tribunals in Uttar Pradesh a handbook titled 'Judgments and Gender (Sensitivity and Compassion in Writing Judgments)', directing that it be shared with every judicial officer for information and strict compliance. The handbook was approved by the Supreme Court in a judgment of 14 July 2026 (2026 INSC 783) in a suo motu case. That case began after a forum called 'We the Women of India' wrote to the Supreme Court about observations in a March 2025 Allahabad High Court order in a POCSO matter; the Supreme Court set that order aside. Chief Justice Surya Kant wrote that judicial decisions must embody compassion, humanity and understanding, especially in cases involving sexual offences and vulnerable or minor victims.

The Court asked Justice Aniruddha Bose, Director of the National Judicial Academy, to form a committee of experts to prepare guidelines. The Court noted that earlier guidelines on gender-neutral language had been framed for a largely anglicised model of court functioning, and asked for plain, accessible guidance that suits India's regional languages. The handbook covers stereotyping and victim-blaming and the secondary trauma of insensitive cross-examination, and it lists common gendered expressions with suggested neutral alternatives, including regional ones.