To start with crime, the basic necessities to survive on this planet is food water and shelter but ironically, what we see is the change in scenario, now we come across unwanted necessity called crime which has become quotidian in our lives and the fact that nobody pays as much attention as needed, it has come to an alarming situation.The national crime record bureau has recorded that crime against women is recorded very 1.7 min in India a rape case is filed and every 4.4 min a girl is subjected to domestic violence[i]and we proudly say, India is developing. Does the definition of India just confine to economic spectra of our country? I am not vilifying about criminal law justice system of India but providing you a food for thought to think about it when you are on the other side of the rostrum and going to the same proceedings.
When we look into the background that brought an urge in people for the amendment of criminal act we come across various vile and outrageous conditions where people have become loathsome and repellent.This behavior was noticed in Nirbhaya Rape Case, where 23-year-old paramedic student and assaulted in a moving bus by six men on December 16, 2012.[ii]This incident had a rampant national and international coverage.
Contrarily there are millions of rape cases happening across the country but many of them go unrecognized due to the differences in the urban and rural areas. One such example being Bhanwari Devi Rape Case wherein, she was trying to stop a 9- month-old girl’s wedding. But instead, her efforts to transform the rigid rituals practiced by the villagers were punished by weak, pathetic, upper class man who couldn’t stand a woman taking charge and she was brutally raped in front of her husband.[iii]In this case, the rights of Bhanwari Devi were demeaned under the umbrella of discrimination of upper and lower caste because equality and luxury is something she cannot afford. But one thing that was constant between both the cases was manipulation of the evidences. Evidences that play a vital role in investigation of rape cases happen to be fabricated by the authorities or washed away due to negligence and end up being futile.
Though Bhanwari Devi case gave a platform for Formation Of India’s Sexual Harassment Law but many such cases go unseen because they happen in the rural areas. So, our justice system is unfortunately discrete according to the areas. In the aspect of speedy justice, It should be cynosure that, its not the judge on whom the case depends on but the evidences that drives the judge to come up to a decision, Its not the judiciary but the investigating officers in fault when it comes to lack of evidences to make the criminal guilty. There failing work takes an individual’s right to live a dignified life.The work of our judicial system is not to put the person in jail as that in it doesn’t solve the purpose until he is made guilty for the act committed.
The changes brought about recently, as per The Criminal Law (Amendment) Act,2018 [iv]are austere laws that has straitjacket the hands of criminals before even giving them a thought to commit crime. In this Amended Act, the punishments prescribed are more rigorous and have taken the age of the victim into consideration keeping in mind the gravity of the crime. There is an insertion a new Section 376AB which prescribes the minimum punishment of twenty years rigorous imprisonment to a person committing rape on a woman less than twelve years of age and such a person can be awarded capital sentence aswell.[v] This Act comes as an introduction of death penalty to child rapist. Moreover, it has also made stringent rules for speedy trial of these cases taking care of the sensitivity of the rape victims and their family. The Amended Act [vi], specifically inserts changes in Criminal Procedure Code (CrPC) regarding disposal of appeals in rape cases to be within six months and investigation in rape cases to be completed within two months, only if followed, will bring about a huge change. The amendments must not wait for a case to be registered, but instead it should stop it from even occurring due to the existence of the amendment.
[i]Ncrb.gov.in. (2018). National Crime Records Bureau.
[ii]Agence France-Presse, The Nirbhaya Rape Case That Rocked India, NDTV, July 09, 2018 16:46 IST.
[iii] Sanchi Gupta, The Story Of The Rape That Resulted In The Formation Of India’s Sexual Harassment Law,Mar 28, 2017.
[iv]ASHOK K.M, Death For Child Rape- The Criminal Law Amendment Ordinance, 2018 Promulgated :Read The Salient Features, APRIL 22, 2018 12:44 PM.
[v].Ibid.
[vi] Ibid.
This article is written by
Ayushi Gupta of
AURO University, Surat.
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