Govt turns to jurists for strict rape laws

Faced with nationwide outrage over the recent gangrape, the government is banking on a panel of jurists to end its three decade-old dilemma of having an effective law against sexual assaults on women. Nagendar Sharma reports.

Faced with nationwide outrage over the recent gangrape, the government is banking on a panel of jurists to end its three decade-old dilemma of having an effective law against sexual assaults on women.

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The government has been struggling to find an acceptable definition for the offence. Its efforts to update the 150-year-old IPC - the first such attempt in 1983 - have met with criticism from activists and legal luminaries.

The jurists committee, headed by former Chief Justice of India JS Verma, will recommend changes in the law to ensure quick trials and enhanced punishment to those convicted.

The first effort to update the rape law was made in 1983, following criticism of a Supreme Court (SC) judgment - in which two policemen convicted by the Bombay High Court for raping a minor girl in Maharashtra were acquitted by the apex court.

The criminal law (amendment) bill 1983 enhanced the minimum jail term in cases of custodial rapes to seven years and laid down that the silence of a victim in police station could not be treated as her consent for sex.

The next big development was in 1997, when an NGO named Sakshi filed a petition in SC, seeking changes in the definition of rape.

The court had asked the Law Commission of India, which advises the government on complex legal issues, to prepare a report. With the help of NGOs and women groups, the commission released its report on the review of rape laws in 2000. It recommended replacing the word 'rape' to 'sexual assault', the definition of which went beyond penile penetration to include penetration by any part of body or object.

The report also recommended changes in the Indian Evidence Act to prevent a victim from being cross-examined about her "general immoral character" and sexual history. Based on this, the government got the Parliament's nod in 2002 for amending the law. Rest of the recommendations, however, continued to gather dust.

The UPA government began an exercise in 2005 to amend the laws and make them gender neutral. After seven years of consultations, a fresh bill was introduced in Parliament on December 4 by the home minister. The bill has also faced criticism. Now, the Justice Verma committee faces the task of coming out with an acceptable solution.

Speaker lends monetary help
Lok Sabha Speaker Meira Kumar has extended support to the gangrape victim who is battling for life at the Safdarjung Hospital.

Last week, she had offered R2 lakh from her discretionary quota to her family. Kumar said all her medical expenses would be borne by the Lok Sabha. "It has been conveyed to concerned authorities that all her medical expenses will be taken care of by the Lok Sabha secretariat," said an official. The LS would even bear the cost if she is taken abroad.