NOIDA: In 2011, a 20-year-old woman was found dead and her mother had claimed she had been murdered and police suspected her neighbour. But as the trial went on, cracks were beginning to appear in the story.
The police could not establish rape as the dead body was brought for autopsy a week after the alleged incident. Later, the mother retracted her statement and had become hostile. Eight years and 54 hearings later, the Gautam Buddh Nagar sessions court acquitted the suspect.
Fast forward to this year. On December 17, the court sent a man to seven years in jail for raping his 19-year-old daughter in 2015. This despite the woman’s mother, the complainant in the case, turning hostile.
What changed this time was that police managed to prove rape, gave more evidence in the form of statement before the magistrate and, with support from the police, the victim stuck to her statement, that the judge was willing to disregard the mother’s change in statement.
It is a rare victory for the district’s prosecution -- it won a conviction only six rape cases in 2020, which is significant when compared to last year’s solitary victory. In matters of dowry deaths and Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (Pocso) Act, the numbers are worse -- just three and six cases, respectively, with the latter registering 3.5 times more cases.
{{/usCountry}}It is a rare victory for the district’s prosecution -- it won a conviction only six rape cases in 2020, which is significant when compared to last year’s solitary victory. In matters of dowry deaths and Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (Pocso) Act, the numbers are worse -- just three and six cases, respectively, with the latter registering 3.5 times more cases.
{{/usCountry}}In comparison, cases under the Gangsters’ Act see almost a 90% conviction rate.
Police effort
Since the introduction of the police commissionerate system in GB Nagar this year, the force has deployed a new mechanism to investigate cases relating to violence against women.
Deputy commissioner of police (women safety), Vrinda Shukla, said that earlier, one officer of deputy superintendent of police (DSP) rank had to monitor around 2,300 cases a year.
“Now, at least five IPS officers are looking together into those many cases a year. Not only that, each of the 20 police stations in the district now has two sub-inspector (SI)-rank officers dedicated to crimes against women,” she said.
With responsibilities fixed, it has become easier for us to track the progress in investigations. “As a result, in every rape case or crime against children under the Pocso Act, police have arrested suspects,” she said.
The force is also trying to arrange for enough forensic evidence before putting the accused on trial.
“It helps in increasing the chance of conviction significantly. Another aspect that we are focussing on is the protection of witnesses. If a witness in important cases are threatened, it’s obvious that the cases will fall flat in courtrooms,” she said.
“In some cases, where the witnesses do not cooperate, the police have been doing their best to prove cases through medical, chemical and DNA examinations, padded with sufficient physical and digital evidence. Earlier, we had no option other than to bank on the over-burdened forensic sciences laboratory (FSL) in Lucknow. But now, an FSL in neighbouring Ghaziabad has made investigations easier,” Shukla said.
The conviction rate, however, is still below the mark. In a significant chunk of cases of crimes against women, the perpetrators are often known to the victims, and are sometimes even related.
“Several victims change their statements in court to help the person amid the lengthy trial process. Victims generally do not have much say in such decisions. When such matters are settled out of court in exchange for money, the will and pain of a victim are rarely taken into consideration,” said additional commissioner of police Love Kumar.
Jitendra Kumar Jha, a Delhi-based advocate and counsel for the parents of the December 16, 2012 gangrape and murder victim, said that undue delays deter victims.
“The time has come when we have to give proper representation to victims in the criminal justice system. In most rape cases, the victims are from low-income backgrounds and do not get proper support and representation during prosecution. We need more magistrates to provide timely justice to the victims,” he said.
Prosecution pangs
According to the annual National Crime Record Bureau’s “Crime in India” 2019 report released in November, crimes against women had increased 7.3%. In absolute numbers, Uttar Pradesh reported the highest number of crimes against women, accounting for 14.7% of such cases. It also had the highest number of crimes against girls with 7,444 cases.
In part, the low conviction rate could also be due to delay in cases being heard.
In the district, of the 1,983 cases heard in 2019, 65% were convicted in the district and sessions court. Although this may seem like a large number, district special public prosecutor, JP Bhati, said backlog cases made up most of it.
“Cases drag on for years on end. The district’s judge-population ratio has gone up only marginally in the past three years, as against the sanctioned strength. At present, GB Nagar district court has 28 judges, out of which four are civil judges. Only eight are judges for fast-track courts,” he said.
Senior prosecution officer Chhavi Ranjan Dwivedi, said, “I’ve no hesitation in admitting that prosecution needs to overhauled and strengthened. Otherwise, providing justice to the victims of rape and Pocso Act will remain a mirage.”
“Also, out-of-court settlements in several cases have led to a significant reduction in the conviction rate. As time passes, victims reconcile with the situation. Perpetrators of the crimes get enough time to win victims over, by hook or by crook. If we leave the accused with less scope for any illegal manoeuvring, it will increase the conviction rate,” Dwivedi said.