Nine months after the brutal
and horrifying act of rape in Delhi which jolted the country's conscience , the
“Fast Track Court” announced verdict for four from the six accused convicts,
while one being under 18 was delivered to reform home for three years(maximum
applicable) through the Juvenile Justice Board and something died in Delhi’s
Tihar Jail custody. Have the ability to been held guilty of rape and murder and
also have been sentenced to death.
The gruesome nights December 16th 2012
brought a wave of terror nationwide and led to some landmark alterations in
legislations for
example passing of the anti-rape ordinance in the month of
February, constitution of Justice Verma Committee, amendments to Criminal
Legislation Act, Indian Penal Code, Code of Criminal Procedure, Indian Evidence
Act, Protection of kids from Sexual Offences Act, and passage of Sexual
Harassment at Workplace (Prevention, Prohibition and Redressal) Bill 2013, etc.
Additionally, it highlighted several doubts debates over issues for example
capital punishment Vs life imprisonment, chronilogical age of juveniles
indulging in severe criminal acts, compensation to acid attack victims, also
raising the costs of acids while making their purchase regulated.
Justice
Verma Committee: The committee was constituted to recommend amendments towards
the Criminal Law so as to provide for quick trials and graver punishments for
criminals charged with committing sexual assault against women.
- Major
recommendations produced by the committee were associated with rape, sexual
harassment, trafficking, child sexual abuse, sexual assault, acid attacks,
medical study of victims, police, electoral and educational reform.
- Rape
continues to be defined in the report just like any non-consensual sexual act.
Even marital rape gets to be a mention in it and the existing exception into it
under the laws was opined through the committee to be removed. Giving a broader
definition to “sexual assault” the committee has effected to the
mandate.
Criminal Law (Amendment) Act - 2013: The amended law, as went by the
parliament in April 2013, offers a rigorous imprisonment for a term for around
20 years for a rape convict, which might extend to remainder of the convict’s
natural life.
- Repeat offenders happen to be dealt with more severely with
provision of death sentence on their behalf and also making repeat offences of
stalking and voyeurism as non-bailable.
- The mandate from the amended law is
to give stringent punishments such crimes.
- Acid attack cases require a 10
year jail term within the amended law.
- Non registration of First
Investigation Report by police personnel in such instances has also been made a
punishable offence.
Sexual Harassment at Workplace (Prevention,
Prohibition and Redressal) Act 2013: Applicable to both private and public
workplaces the act legalises protection of not just women at their workplace but
additionally students in institutes and colleges, and patients in
hospitals.
- Upholding the decision of the Supreme Court in Vishaka Vs
State of Rajasthan Case the act establishes sexual assaults at workplace as
violative of fundamental rights of “gender equality” and “life and liberty”
amounting to violation from the fundamental right to work as given under Article
19(1)g from the Indian constitution.
- Investigation of grievances will be
carried out by Grievance Committees, to be established by every
employer/authority, and completed within 3 months. Complaints Committees have to
be established Block/District Levels as deemed fit through the District
Collector.
- The act expands the bounds of work place as were defined within
the Vishaka Case.
- Non-compliance of the provisions penalises employers by
charging them fines in addition to cancelling their registrations as
needed.
Issue of Juvenile Delinquency - The Juvenile Justice (Care and
Protection of kids) Act, 2000, brought in compliance to Child Rights Convention,
may be the primary framework in juvenile justice system and it is more of a
welfare legislation.
- The situation in point raised demands to amend the
legislation as well as lower the age of juveniles from 18 to 16 years bearing in
mind the juvenile convicted in the event but they were subsequently rejected by
the Supreme Court. However, a draft amendment bill is pending before Secretary
of state for Law and Justice for scrutiny.
Debate over death penalty Vs
life imprisonment: Although the Apex court opines that death penalty is
definitely an exception, for rarest from the rare cases of crime, and life
imprisonment may be the norm, women’s organisations fear that capital
punishments can drive the criminals to kill their victims in an attempt to
destroy evidences rather than serving as a deterrent. However, keeping them
alive in custody for his or her natural life term despite committing heinous
crimes leaves the sufferers vulnerable with no hope for justice.
- Arrive
at a balanced judgement in such scenarios Top court advocates for consideration
of both aggravating and mitigating things to prove the accused guilty and render
such quantum of punishment out of the box apt. Aggravating circumstances speak
from the accused and mitigating circumstances speak for him. The idea is that a
guilty might have to go unpunished but an innocent should not go
punished.
Returning to the judgement, had the convicts been sentenced to
imprisonment, many such miscreants may have got teeth. Such stringent
punishments will prove like a deterrent to criminal minds. There might be an
element of truth to the fact that mob and media pressure steered this episode to
the ending, if this is one. The storyline of Nirbhaya may not end because there
might be appeals in 2nd floor courts but she will function as the girl whom
everybody knows yet nobody knows her name.
