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Gun Minus Fire

The law on rape is still an impotent being

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Gun Minus Fire
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Wither Justice?

  • The cabin crew of the national carrier levelled charges against the pilot and co-pilot for molesting an airhostess on Dec 4, 2009, while in air.
  • 23-yr-old molestation victim humiliated in an Ahmedabad city court. Questioned in a humiliating manner, she went and complained to the Chief Justice in Sep ’09
  • A Finnish woman tourist was molested in Jaipur by three people in Aug ’09. Two are still absconding. One is out on bail.
  • A 27-year-old Indian documentary filmmaker escaped sexual assault as she was coming out of the 34th International Film Festival in Delhi on Oct 14, ’03.

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One would have thought the Ruchika Girhotra case—in which the young schoolgirl was molested by ex-Haryana DGP S.P.S. Rathore and consequently driven to suicide—would have triggered a renewed urgency to make sexual harassment laws stricter. Sadly, there has been little action despite repeated calls from civil society—and beyond. Exhaustive recommendations by the Law Commission to modify Section 375 of the IPC, which deals with sexual harassment and rape, are still shuttling between the Union law and home ministries.

Although the law ministry has agreed to one of the recommendations—namely, having separate courts for harassment cases—women’s rights groups are calling for even more amendments to make the penal code stronger. Kirti Singh, a former member of the Law Commission and a contributor to the 172nd report it filed on amendments to Sec 375, told Outlook, “We met the law minister recently. I do hope this time the government will look at amending the law seriously. If not, many more cases like Rathore’s will come up and they’ll be let off with minor punishment.”

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Those petitioning for changes in Sec 375 point to one crucial flaw: according to this clause, rape is defined technically only in terms of “penile vaginal penetration”. Other cases of physical assaults and mental torture are dealt under Sec 354 and 509, making them “less important”. In fact, the home ministry, in one of its recent advisories, admitted that rape and sexual harassment cases have not been handled with sensitivity.

The Law Commission recommended changing the focus from rape to ‘sexual assault’ as its definition goes beyond just forced intercourse to include penetration by any part of the body and objects. Its report also called for the deletion of Sec 155(4) of the Indian Evidence Act which requires a rape victim to be cross-examined about her ‘general immoral character’ and sexual history. It suggested graded sentences, with higher punishment for rape committed by relatives of the victim and by persons in ‘trust or authority’, including public servants.

In a six-page advisory issued in September last year, the home ministry termed the situation as “very grim and disappointing”. “Complaints are still being received regarding non-registration of FIRs and (the) unsympathetic attitude of police personnel towards rape victims and victims of violence,” it pointed out. It also called on the states to strengthen measures required to make women feel more secure. The 2007 report of the National Crime Records Bureau (NCRB), published by MHA, records an ominously steady rise in the graph of the number of registered cases of rape countrywide, going up to at 20,737 that year. The number of registered molestation and sexual harassment cases, similarly, stood at 38,734 and 10,950 respectively.

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A recent study conducted by ngo Swanchetan found that 92 per cent of the women they contacted described the criminal justice system as being “insensitive”. They were particularly offended by the tone of police officers while being questioned and by the number of times they were asked to narrate their ordeal. “Eighty per cent of these women said they grew more sceptical of the justice system as in many cases even after six months there was no hope for justice,” says Swanchetan director Rajat Mitra.

CPI(M) leader Brinda Karat reacts sharply to the delay in amendments to Sec 375, “Unfortunately, the government is least concerned about the plight of children and women...they don’t form an important political constituency.” Children can’t vote. And even women find themselves disenfranchised here.

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