Shivanii singh, Author
A 2nd year law student from Calcutta University. Read More
ABSTRACT
”One woman reports a rape every 15 minutes in India.”
The entire nation went into shock after a thirty one year old P.G resident doctor was brutally gang raped and killed on August 9,2023. This was the second rape incident after the Nirbhaya Rape case which lead the entire country into a state of shock and anger. Even after the Central Bureau of Investigation’s (CBI), taking over the case, justice is being delayed. This raises serious questions over the efficiency of rape laws in India. It makes us, as citizens of India, think,” ARE RAPE LAWS IN INDIA REALLY EFFECTIVE?” If they are so effective, why India has not been able to curb rapes, improve women’s safety? This article explores the rape laws in India, their efficiency and also gives suggestions to effectively improve India’s rape laws.
INTRODUCTION
India is a country which worships women as ”Goddess”. Durga puja is a festival where female form is worshipped and celebrated. Despite this cultural reverence, India continues to grapple with the horrifying reality of rape cases, raising serious concerns about the safety and dignity of women. Rape is a heinous crime where a sexual intercourse is forcefully done against any women without her consent. It is basically an encroachment on the body, mind and will of the other person. It is a result of uncontrolled sexual desires and a result of patriarchy. It is done to shut down a woman’s voice, to show power. The very Nirbhaya case serves as a proof where the victim tried to resist from being raped and angered by the same, she was raped in the worst possible manner and a rod was inserted. How dare she resist? Rape can be stopped only with stricter laws and their effective application, which will be discussed in the article.
HISTORICAL EVOLUTION OF RAPE LAWS
Rape, from the very beginning was never regarded as a crime against women. It was regarded as a crime against property. Property in question was women, who belonged to husbands and fathers. According to the code of Hammurabi, in case of raping a virgin, compensation will be provided to the father and if a married woman was raped, she was considered to be an adulteress and was subjected to death penalty. Therefore, there was no importance given to consent. Women were regarded as property for men. It was only from the 18th century onward where rape was considered a crime against the victim.
It was in 1860s when rape was regarded as a crime against women in the Indian Penal Code. The Indian Penal Code (IPC), 1860, under Sections 375 and 376, defined and prescribed punishment for rape for the first time in Indian law and currently Section 63 and 64 of Bhartiya Nyaya Sanhita, 2023 deal with it.
Tukaram And Ors v. State Of Maharashtra–
There has been a lot of amendment’s made after the brutal and infamous Mathura rape case where a teenage adivasi girl, Mathura was raped by policemen in custody. This case had lead to a nationwide protests where people of India protested on streets. Tukaram And Ors v. State Of Maharashtra– The sessions court released the policemen on grounds that the prosecution had failed to prove it’s case. The High Court however in it’s judgement stated that the girl did not give consent and it was a case of subjugation because the rapists involved were policemen. So, the subjugation was a result of fear and not a a valid consent in eyes of law. However, the supreme court reversed the judgement acquitting the policemen as there were no injuries in the body to prove that she was raped. A lot of feminist groups protested against the same .This led to the passage of The criminal law (second amendment) Act,1983 introducing Section 228A in the IPC, which states that the victim’s identity should not in any circumstance be disclosed. In order to deal with custodial rape, sections 376-B, 376-C and 376-D were inserted.
After this incident, courts have been giving progressive judgement towards rape.
THE NIRBHAYA RAPE CASE
Everyone is well aware of the infamous Nirbhaya rape case where the entire country was angry, sad, tensed about the safety of women in their family where a 23 year old woman was raped brutally, iron rod inserted into her private parts. This case also exposed the flaws of the judicial system – the juvenile convict was not sentenced to death because he was still a minor. ”A MINOR”- REALLY? A minor can rape a girl but he cannot be punished severely because he has not attained maturity? This raises a very big question on Indian justice delivery system.
JUSTICE VERMA COMMITTEE REPORT
After the Nirbhaya Case, Justice Verma Committee was set up suggesting amendment to criminal laws. It recommended to make marital rape a legal offense and also to remove two finger test during the medical examination of the victim.
After the Nirbhaya Case, concept of zero FIR was introduced in which a Zero FIR can be filed in any police station for serious and urgent cognizable offenses, such as rape, regardless of the crime’s location or the police station’s jurisdiction.
APARAJITA BILL
The Aparajita Women and Child (West Bengal Criminal Laws Amendment) Bill, 2024 was passed by the West Bengal legislative assembly. The bill proposes death penalty for rape offenders. The investigation of the rape cases should be completed in 21 days. It also proposes a very unique concept of penalty for policemen and health officials who do not act in a prompt manner or try to tarnish evidence.
Overall this bill is a good way forward to increase women’s safety in India. However, if these laws are not implemented properly, it could be an issue.
IMPACT ON SURVIVORS
- Prior to the Criminal Law (Amendment) Act, 2013, there law had allowed to bring a woman’s sexual history could be pulled out in court. Basically, people got a means to judge a woman’s character on the basis of her past sexual history. State of Karnataka v. Manjappa (2013), in this case , Supreme Court gave a judgement in which it emphasized that there is no connection between rape and a person’s sexual history.
- Survivors are asked to shut down their voices and not reveal to anyone what happened to them because it will ruin their reputation in society and no one will ultimately marry them.
- Victim blaming- They are often victim blamed . This increases social stigma. We often come to hear ”She was raped because of the clothes she wore” or ”she was raped because of going out at night” Many victims fear coming out because of this.
- The legal and judicial system is very slow in delivering justice. In worst situations people do not have enough money to even go to courts .
CRITICAL ANALYSIS
From not even considering rape as crime to having legal frameworks for rape and introduction of zero FIR’s, we have come a long way. The brutal two finger test has been abolished. However, marital rape has still not been criminalized. There is still so much stigma associated with rape. The objectification of women is at peak . Many people want death penalty for rapists- which is justiciable. Rape is not just invading body, it is killing someone’s soul. It is such a heinous crime where women die a silent death. It is A BLACK DAY for India where even one woman is raped. A country which worships females should not have even a single rape case. The legal framework needs to improve in order to reduce rape cases. Stronger laws could effectively reduce it. There should be survivor friendly trials where the survivors feel comfortable in speaking out.
CONCLUSION
Thus, there is an urgent need for more stringent and effectively enforced rape laws in India. While progress has been made, challenges still remain. We have come a long way. How many Nirbhaya’s do we need to sacrifice for the law to change? Do the protests really matter when there is no ground level reform being done? Every woman is concerned of their safety. It is the need of the hour to implement strict rape laws in India—laws so stringent that they deter anyone from violating a woman’s dignity and bodily autonomy..
REFERENCES
- An Extensive Study of Rape Laws in India’ (2024) Manupatra https://articles.manupatra.com/article-details/An-Extensive-study-of-Rape-Laws-in-India accessed 5 November 2024.
- A Critique of Rape Laws in India’ (2024) iPleaders https://blog.ipleaders.in/critique-rape-laws-india/#A_brief_history_of_rape_laws accessed 5 November 2024.
