Wow! 60% special discount in rape

A rape is a rape after all whoever commits it. However, our age old Indian Penal Code framed by British in 1860 gives around 60 per cent discount in rape punishments and privileges to certain category of people. We have a woman President, a woman Speaker and a powerful woman Congress Chairperson. Still it is a shame that we encourage to give the concession for rape to police officers, medical superintendents and government officials by giving the maximum punishment of three years whereas a common citizen gets minimum seven years imprisonment.

Forget the illiterate women, how many educated women know about this ambiguity and discrepancy in our outdated law. When we will throw out the old laws with disparity and haziness and make new laws? Had something constructive and meaningful were done by making changing, amending and modifying the punishment for rape? Otherwise the time will record the celebrations in the centenary year of international woman's day were as Hippocratic. Are you listening dear women activists? Please rise and act now. Do you think Lalu Prasad YadavLalu Prasad Yadav, Mulayam Singh YadavMulayam Singh Yadav, Sharad PawarSharad Pawar, AshokAshok Chavan or even your local MLA or corporator will come forward to express their solidarity with you?

According to the National Crime Records Bureau (NCRB), sexual offences in India are increasing year after year. Many sexual offences go unreported and not recorded. Therefore, based only on the reported sexual offences data of NCRB, we cannot understand the exact level of sexual offences occurred in India during a particular period. There are many drawbacks in our system.

Like anywhere in the world, sex workers play a vital role in India directly and indirectly in controlling sexual offences. In a move aimed at bringing sex workers into mainstream of society, on June 15, 2004 the then union Minister of State for Human Resource Development Kanti Singh announced that the UPA government was considering a proposal to introduce a licence system for sex workers across India. It remains a mere nice consideration-thought after six years.

There are more than 20 lakh sex workers in India now. Prostitution in India is tolerated to a certain extent so far as a prostitute practised her trade in private. In India the sale of one’s own bodily sex to a male customer by an adult woman on her own free will in her private premises is not illegal. However, organised prostitution is illegal.

Many NGOs, social scientists, workers from medical profession and sociologists opined that the Women and Child Development Minister should take initiation to legalise prostitution in India. Though the previous Women and Child Development Minister Renuka Choudhary encouraged this thought endorsing her views at different platforms, no decision has been taken in this matter until now.

The British introduced the written Indian Penal Code in 1860 and their aim was to make it best suitable for their own needs and to take advantage of the situation at all time to rule India. The Constitution of India adopted on 26th November, 1949 and came into existence on 26th January, 1950. Later on, though we have made many amendments, modifications and additions in the Indian Penal Code, 1860 the sexual offence section has not changed substantially suitable to the independent citizens of India and the current time.

Every day we come across with the news of rape, molestation, sexual abuses, blackmailing for sexual favours etc. In my opinion, there is imprecision, disparity and divergence while discussing the sexual offences in the Indian Penal Code. Due to this disparity, ambiguity and loopholes, Indian female folks largely are suffering and fall victims of sexual offences and hence the sexual offences are increasing year after year at an alarming level.

It is a pity that after 60 years of independence we still follow the very old 1860 British Indian Penal Code sections for sexual offences, which are conveniently made as law for their benefits. IPC 375 deals with rape and the nature of rape is described in six different ways. An exception states, “Sexual intercourse by a man with his own wife, the wife not being under fifteen years of age, is not rape.” The Manipur state later amended the age clause of the wife from “fifteen years” to “thirteen years”.

Indian Penal Code Sections 376, 376A, B, C and D deal with the punishment for rape. Here we can see the disparity and haziness. Whoever, except in the case provided for by sub-section (2), commits rape shall be punished with imprisonment of either description for a term of which shall not be less than seven years but which may be for life or for a term which may extend to ten years and shall also be liable to fine unless the woman raped is his own wife and is not under twelve years of age, in cases, he shall be punished with imprisonment of either description for a term which may extend to two years or with fine or with both.

The sub-section (2) describes if a police officer rapes a woman in custody, a public servant rapes a woman subordinate taking advantage of his official position, being on the management or staff of a jail and rapes a woman, being the management and staff of a hospital and rapes a woman, commits rape on a woman knowing her to be pregnant, commits rape on a woman when she is under twelve years of age—in all these cases the punishment shall be normally with a description for a term not exceeding three years. A rape is a rape irrespective of it committed by an ordinary person, police officer, doctor, government officer, jail superintendent or a priest and generally, the punishment should not be discriminated. Our judicial system, legal experts, sitting and retired judges, advocates, sociologists, social workers, intellectuals, writers, journalists, NGOs, ministers, parliamentarians, elected members of legislature assembly and civic bodies, public servants, teachers and people from all walks of life should study the sexual offences scenario in India in detail and actively take part to debate and review the sections of IPC 375, 376 and 376A to D and appropriate additions, changes or amendments to be made by the parliament and if necessary new sections to be added in the Indian Penal Code to contain the sexual offences. We must complete the task in a time-bound manner within six months. The rewriting the sexual offences sections of IPC should be vision, soundness and to uphold the integrity, unity and security of the nation.

It should never be a mere outburst of egoism, generalisation of an exceptional case and appeasement of cheap political tantrum aiming the vote bank. I recall an incident occurred few years back. There was an interesting scene at a futile meeting of a Group of Ministers in New Delhi. The then Union Minister for Women and Child Development Renuka Choudhary wanted that if any man found in a brothel with a minor girl to be charged with rape or attempt to rape and to punish for a minimum period of seven years, and the responsibility to prove his innocence would lie with the accused. The Group of Ministers (then) headed by Home Minister Shivraj PatilShivraj Patil, Minister of Science and Technology Kapil SibalKapil Sibal, Panchayati Raj Minister Mani ShankarShankar Aiyar, Health Minister Anbumani Ramadoss and Minister for Social Justice and Empowerment Meira KumarMeira Kumar were among others besides Renuka Choudhary. All opposed Renuka’s proposal and in retaliation, it is believed, she accused her male colleagues of being “chauvinists”.

The punishment for sexual offences should be reviewed and stringent measures to be taken by rising the punishment period and fine and bring parity and conducting fair, unbiased and transparent trials with a fixed time frame, but by applying common sense, practical methods and wisdom.

Nevertheless, there is a ray of hope for sexual offence victims. The government has already cleared a proposal with bold changes in the Criminal Procedure Code (CrPC). The major changes of the proposal are completion of the trial within two months after examination of witnesses begins (and adjournment will not be granted), as far as practicable a woman judge to hear cases, investigation of case at victim’s residence and as far as practicable by a woman police officer, questioning of the victim in presence of her parents or a social worker of the locality at the location of their choice and court not to take cognizance of an offence under IPC section 376 (punishment for rape) where such offence is alleged by a man’s wife who is under 18 years of age. The proposed legislation was to get parliament nod earlier and if the legislation is passed, it will be a landmark in the history of punishment for sexual offences and the law in India.

Nevertheless, if the controversial Sexual Offences (Special Courts) Bill, 2010, introduced in Parliament two weeks back, gets a nod, a woman in her position could land in a right legal mess.

The Bill, which is touted as being gender neutral, proposes the introduction of a new section — 376 (E) — to the Indian Penal Code, 1860, on unlawful sexual acts. “Whoever touches directly or indirectly, with a part of the body or with an object, any part of the body of another person (not being the spouse of such person), with sexual intent and without the consent of such other person, shall be punished with simple imprisonment for a term which may extend to two years or with fine or with both,” it says.

The Bill does not specify the sex of the victim. So in effect a man can accuse a woman — or another man — of sexual abuse. But ironically, the Bill has its seeds in the 172nd report of the Law Commission of India, and recommendations drafted by women’s groups around the country, spearheaded by the National Commission for Women (NCW).

References

· Indian Penal Code 1860 and its various amendments.

· National Crime Records Bureau

· Sexual Offences (Special Courts) Bill, 2010

· National Commission for Women (NCW)

Published in the Afternoon News in 2009