Enacted in haste. Handling chronic problem with kids’ glove!

Nirbhaya of Delhi, Gudia of Shimla, Afisa of Kathua are a grim reminder that India has done little to address the plight of women.  “Sati” -an obsolete funeral custom where a widow immolated herself on her husband’s pyre kept India in a bad limelight before this tradition was brought to an end. Dowry deaths have been another bolt on the social system. Female feticide, killing the girl child have been other issues where laws have been enacted but have not been able to give any respite to women of India. Now the unending cases of rapes and public outcry has made the Narendra Modi government move an ordinance.  President of India Ram Nath Kovind on April 22’2018 gave his assent to the same that allows death penalty for those convicted of raping girls below the age of 12 years.  This only happened with sad turn of events, where elected representative that too from the ruling party were said to be involved in rape in one case in Uttar Pradesh and in the case in Kahtua were actively involved in shielding the accused.

As per a report by National Crime Records Bureau of India (NCRB); in 2016 about 64,000 cases of child rape were reported that came up before the courts under the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO), conviction could only be secured in 3 per cent of the total cases brought before the courts. The Act mandates that trials are to be completed within a year, however, NCRB data points at the end of 2016, 89 per cent cases were pending trial. Not only is the number of reported cases is high, but also reflects the sad state of affairs in the country there. The number of pending cases goes to highlight that cases are taking their own time and there is no sense of urgency associated with the cases that otherwise was desired.

The government was prompt to bring in the ordinance, however it seems that the ordinance has been pushed in a hurry in response to public outcry and the root cause of the offence has not been studied. In majority of child rape cases, the offender is a person known to the victim, such as a close family member, a neighbor, or an acquaintance due to which there is under reportage of incidents. The ordinance, which stipulates death penalty for those convicted of raping girls below the age of 12 years, will now only complicate matters and further suppress reporting of incidents.  Also, the Law Commission of India in its report on death penalty has said that after many years of research and debate a view has emerged that there is no evidence to suggest that the death penalty has a deterrent effect over and above its alternative – life imprisonment. Moreover, since the conviction for raping a girl child under 12 is same as the conviction for murder, the probability of the perpetrator of crime restoring to latter can’t be ruled out. Hence, the criminal mind may be a tempted to carry out another crime after having committed a rape.

The ordinance has stirred another debate. Why law is only enacted for the girl child under the age of 12 years only? Are girls of 13 or for that matter of 14 or 15 years less vulnerable? In the case of Nirbhaya, the court lost important time when the defense lawyer went on to prove that one of the alleged culprit was a juvenile in order to get a “softer” sentence for the accused. Can we rule out the possibility that the accused will not use attempt to prove that the victim is above the age of 12?

It’s indeed strange and dreadful situation that the society in India is going through, where instead of the perpetrators, the victim of the rape are made to feel embarrassed, and the rapist are turning out to be none other than the lawmakers, the new ordinance is handling a crude, chronic problem with  kids’ gloves.