Women's Day: Justice Gita Mittal to be conferred 'Nari Shakti' award

New Delhi: Delhi High Court acting Chief Justice Gita Mittal will be conferred with "Nari Shakti Puraskar" on Thursday, a statement said on Wednesday. Justice Mittal is one of the 30 individual awardees who have been selected for the Puraskar.

Meet Justice Gita Mittal, #NariShakti Puraskar 2017 awardee. Justice Gita Mittal long recognized that following a universal procedural approach in typical court room trials involving sexual violence on women and children severely impedes equal access to justice pic.twitter.com/axkOmnS1ap

— PIB India (@PIB_India) March 7, 2018

"President Ram Nath Kovind will present awards at a special ceremony to be held in Rashtrapati Bhavan on International Women's Day on Thursday," the press statement said. "To acknowledge women's achievements, the government of India confers Nari Shakti Puraskars on eminent women and institutions in recognition of their services towards the cause of women empowerment. "This year, 30 individual awardees and nine institutional awardees are selected for these Puraskars. The Ministry of Women and Child Development announces these national level awards for eminent women, organisations and institutions," it said. A poster announcing the award read: "Justice Gita Mittal long recognised that following a universal procedural approach in typical courtroom trials involving sexual violence on women and children severely impedes equal access to justice. It results in secondary traumatisation during trial and further exacerbates their victimisation." "To address these procedural bottlenecks and institutional barriers, Justice Mittal as a judge of the Delhi High Court spearheaded the Vulnerable Witness Project," it said.