Advocate AP Singh kicked up a controversy with his unsavoury remarks in the Nirbhaya gangrape

Advocate AP Singh, who defends two death row convicts in the Nirbhaya gangrape-murder case, has kicked up another controversy with his unsavoury remarks.

Representing Vinay and Akshay in the court, Singh on Saturday said rapes can be prevented in India only if celebrations like Valentine’s Day and the ‘kiss of love’ campaign are banned.

The intemperate remarks prove yet again that the lawyer is unperturbed by the outrage triggered by his shocking comments on rape and women in the BBC documentary on Nirbhaya case

In his latest outpouring, Singh told Mail Today: “To stop rapes, ban celebrations like Valentine’s Day and ‘kiss of love’ campaigns.

This is all blind imitation of the West and doesn’t at all suit the Indian culture. In their stead, festivals like Bhai Dooj, Raksha Bandhan and Mata Pita Ki Puja (an event to worship one’s mother and father) should be celebrated across the country on a grand scale to inculcate cultural values in today’s youth.”

Surprisingly, the remarks came within hours of the Bar Council of India (BCI), the apex body regulating the legal profession and conduct of advocates in the country, issuing a show-cause notice to Singh and another defence lawyer M.L. Sharma for their tasteless comments in the BBC documentary.

In the film, they had blamed Nirbhaya for the incident and made grossly offensive comments about rape, rape victims and women in general.

The lawyers have been asked to reply within three weeks as to why their licences not be cancelled for these utterances. The decision came after a meeting of the BCI executive committee, which found a “prima facie case of professional misconduct” against the lawyers.

In the documentary, Singh refers to his controversial comments made during the trial stage: “If my daughter or sister engaged in any pre-marital activity and disgraced herself and allowed herself to lose face and character by doing such things, I would most certainly take this sort of sister or daughter to my farm house and, in front of my entire family, I would put petrol on her and set her alight.” Then, he added: “I still stand by that.”

The notices have been issued under a provision of the Advocates Act and their licences to practice may be cancelled if the BCI is not satisfied with their response. “Once they file their replies, we will examine these. If need be, we will initiate an inquiry. After that, the council has the power to revoke their licences,” BCI Chairman Manan Kumar Mishra said.

Singh has courted controversies on earlier occasions too. The Bar Council of Delhi had criticised him for casting aspersions on Additional Sessions Judge Yogesh Khanna soon after he sentenced the four convicts to death on September 13, 2013. The prosecution said his statements clearly amounted to contempt.

“You have not upheld truth, but lies… This decision has been taken under political pressure and for vote bank politics,” Singh had told the judge in open courtroom. Reacting to the BCI notice, Sharma told Mail Today: “I said nothing wrong. I have only said there should be better safety and security for women. Those who watched the documentary despite the ban are in contempt of court. We should respect court orders. I will soon file contempt petitions against some TV channels.”

Sharma, who claimed his comments were “misconstrued and misrepresented”, alleged that film-maker Leslee Udwin used only a part of what he had said. “She (Udwin) took my interview for 10 days and showed only one line… that was not in the context of what I said.”

In the documentary, convicted rapist Mukesh Singh displays utter lack of remorse in blaming the physiotherapy student for their savagery and saying “she shouldn’t have fought back”. Speaking from jail, Singh says: “Women are more responsible for rape than men… While being raped, she shouldn’t fight back.

She should just be silent and allow the rape. Then they’d have dropped her off after doing her and only hit the boy.”

Meanwhile, the Editors Guild of India appealed to the government to revoke the ban on BBC documentary, saying the move was “wholly unwarranted”. The guild stated that the documentary, ‘Storyville: India’s Daughter’, portrayed the “courage, sensibility and liberal outlook” of a family traumatised by the brutality inflicted on their daughter, the continuing shameful attitudes towards women among the convict as well as the educated people, including lawyers.

Shocking

The shocking incident which triggered nationwide protests took place on a private bus which the victim had boarded along with a male friend on the night of December 16, 2012. They were on their way back home after watching the evening show of Life of Pi at a Saket mall theatre. The accused brutally gangraped the physiotherapy student, beat up her friend and dumped them from the moving bus. The victim died 13 days later at a hospital in Singapore.