Mukesh Singh is escorted by the police inside the High Court. —AP

I have been trying to write on this topic for quite some time now, but unfortunately, I was left shocked and speechless every time I heard another frivolous justification for rape cited by sex offenders.

Mukesh Singh, the convict in the 2012 Delhi rape incident – in which a daughter of India had to suffer the consequences of being born a girl in a patriarchal, chauvinistic society – asserted it was Nirbhaya’s fault, that she was "indecent to be roaming around at nine o'clock at night."

What can you say to this twisted logic?

What can you do to change it?

No solution, no suggestions, no words ever seemed sufficient. Worse, true justice is unattainable, impossible.

When I first entered the field of law, I had the usual quixotic notions of the profession – how glamorous it would be; how virtuous, how just. I had imagined I would go about pleading justice, and it would fly towards me like winged angels. I saw myself as a solitary force of order amidst chaos.

It would be easy, I thought, or at least convenient.

One of the first files that came my way was that of a rape incident. The victim was a final year medical student at one of the most prestigious universities of the country. The culprit was her Khalu (maternal uncle).