The Allahabad High Court has drawn severe criticism from legal experts and social activists following controversial remarks in a recent rape case ruling, where Justice Sanjay Kumar Singh stated that the survivor "herself invited trouble" and "was also responsible" for the incident. These comments were made while granting bail to an accused in a case involving a postgraduate student in Delhi.

"This court is of the view that even if the allegation of the victim is accepted as true, then it can also be concluded that she herself invited trouble and was also responsible for the same," Justice Singh stated in the March 11 verdict that has now triggered widespread backlash.

Former Manipur High Court Chief Justice Siddharth Mridul expressed his dismay, calling the remarks "untenable, unacceptable and completely insensitive." Similarly, Pragtisheel Mahila Sangathan, an organization of women lawyers, condemned the "absolutely unwarranted observations" and criticized the judge's "patriarchal mindset."

The organization has urged the Supreme Court to implement gender sensitization programs for High Court judges, particularly prioritizing the Allahabad High Court. They noted a concerning pattern, stating, "In cases of sexual violence against women, one after the other, decisions are coming from Allahabad High Court in which established legal definitions and decisions of the Supreme Court are being sidelined."

This incident follows another recent controversial ruling from the same court, where Justice Ram Manohar Narayan Mishra stated that grabbing a minor girl's breasts and breaking the string of her pyjama did not constitute rape or attempted rape.

Shiv Sena MP Priyanka Chaturvedi criticized the court on social media, writing, "Allahabad High Court seriously needs better judges. No action was taken against Justice Mishra regarding his pathetic judgement earlier, though SC stayed it, and now we have this."

Senior advocate Shobha Gupta highlighted that the court's observations send a problematic message, explaining that legal definitions clearly state that sexual acts without consent, including when a person is intoxicated, constitute rape. "It is for the man to prove that it was not rape... here something completely different has happened," Gupta said, emphasizing the need for judicial sensitization.

Activist-advocate Yogita Bhayana expressed disappointment that 13 years after the Nirbhaya case, such regressive views persist within the judiciary: "The judge has given a moral lecture instead of going by the law that says consent must be given and a woman's statement must be taken as proof of crime."