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SC notice on petition that makes radical suggestions to check sex crime
The petition filed by Supreme Court Women Lawyers Association said several European countries provide for chemical castration of convicted rapists
NEW DELHI: The Supreme Court on Monday asked the Centre to respond to a public interest litigation that made several radical suggestions including provisions not to grant bail to sexual offenders till commencement of trial, chemical castration of convicted sex offenders and a ban on online pornography.
“We strongly appreciate and admire the hard work that has gone into preparing this petition… But certain reliefs that you are seeking are barbaric. It is outside our domain,” a bench of Surya Kant and Ujjal Bhuyan said, a reference to suggestions such as chemical castration for those convicted of sexual offences against children and women in the petition filed by Supreme Court Women Lawyers Association.
The petition also sought the Law Commission of India’s opinion if such a punishment could be introduced. It said laws in several European countries provided for chemical castration (which entails giving drugs to suppress male testosterone) of convicted rapists and has helped reduce sexual crimes.
Another radical suggestion was to bar the accused in sexual crimes from being released on bail till the trial commences. To be sure, the suggestion flies in the face of court’s recent judgments which reiterate that “bail is the rule and jail is the exception” and pre-trial detention could not be the punishment for a crime.
Senior advocate Mahalakshmi Pavani who argued the petition along with advocate Filza Moonis said, “From Nirbhaya to Abhaya, so many directions have been passed by the court but still incidents keep on happening.” Incidentally, Monday marked the 12th anniversary of the horrific gangrape case in Delhi where a paramedic student was brutally gangraped inside a moving bus which led to her death after few days.
Pavani said that some harsh measures were required to be taken as the problem still continues, pointing to the rape of a junior doctor at RG Kar Medical College in Kolkata. “Around 95 incidents involving sexual violence has taken place since the RG Kar incident, but such incidents which happen in Tier 2 and Tier 3 cities get brushed under the carpet.”
The bench told the senior lawyer, “There is no problem with the quantity and quality of punishment… We have to see where we are lacking to achieve the objective of our penal laws.”
Pavani reasoned that the root cause of sexual crimes was pornography which was easily available online. Referring to various OTT platforms among other online content, she said, “I am seeking a ban on open pornography because pornography is the theory and rape is the practical effect of it.”
The petition also suggested issuing pan-India guidelines on “safety and security measures for women” along with a guide to spell out the code of conduct or behaviour towards women passengers using public transport, including airlines.
“These are very innovative and important suggestions,” the bench observed considering the possibility of various government departments to display it in every place used by women.
In all, the petition raised 20 prayers with some of the prayers coinciding with pending matters before the top court with regard to implementation of Protection of Women from Sexual Harassment at Workplace or PoSH Act, effective implementation of Sexual Harassment Electronic (SHE) portal managed by the Centre among others. The petition also sought insinuating comments by politicians against victims of sexual crimes to be made an offence and a direction to ensure elected representatives facing crimes against women to be barred from contesting elections till they get an acquittal.
