A.P. Singh, the defense lawyer for two of the men who were sentenced to death for the brutal gang rape and murder of a 23-year-old medical intern in Delhi, is in trouble over his controversial remarks made after the verdict.
On Sept. 13, in response to a reporter's question, he presumably referred to the dead victim when he said the following:
"...if my daughter was having premarital sex and moving around at night with her boyfriend, I would have burnt her alive. I would not have let this situation happen. All parents should adopt such an attitude."
Indians expressed their outrage on Twitter.
#delhigangrape defense lawyer AP Singh with deranged talk of burning his daughter were she to go out at night, is what's wrong with India.
Sonia Faleiro
@soniafaleiro
#delhigangrape defense lawyer AP Singh with deranged talk of burning his daughter were she to go out at night, is what's wrong with India.
Diyar AP Singh, if I had a father like you, I'd prefer the burning to being known as your daughter.
Vidyut
@Vidyut
Diyar AP Singh, if I had a father like you, I'd prefer the burning to being known as your daughter.
Mr AP Singh is living proof of the evils of patriarchy and misogyny.
Gul Panag
@GulPanag
Mr AP Singh is living proof of the evils of patriarchy and misogyny.
Dude, AP Singh, you're supposed to defend your clients in court, not show the world you're a misogynist jackass.
Madhu Menon
@madmanweb
Dude, AP Singh, you're supposed to defend your clients in court, not show the world you're a misogynist jackass.
Because people like AP Singh are alive, criminals breed in this country. I'd say if I had such a man in my house, I'd burn HIM down.
Vitamin K
@MyHyness
Because people like AP Singh are alive, criminals breed in this country. I'd say if I had such a man in my house, I'd burn HIM down.
After receiving complaints from women lawyers and activists, the Delhi Bar Council will soon decide Singh's fate at a meeting. If his license is revoked on grounds of "professional misconduct," he could be barred from practicing law for life. What he said was "highly objectionable," said a member of the council.
Singh later said in an interview that he made the controversial statement "in the spur of the moment" because he was "agitated, upset and stressed after the sentence" and a reporter was egging him on to answer a question.
He denied that he was referring to the gang rape victim in his statement, but he defended his views on premarital sex.
"Which father or brother would want women of their house to have premarital sex? There is nothing wrong with what I have said, which is that I will not welcome it. In fact, no Indian household in the right frame of mind would welcome this, that is reality."