'Rape' in India by Shahrukh Taghvaei

“Delhi -  rape capital of india”

                                                -media

“Bharat” , even on the map of the world, looks like a women in  saree, and most definitely has the persona of a woman; still there seem to be no respect for women amongst nationalists or others . So explains the media in refrence to our political systems and their opinons on, as to who should be blamed for the cruel act, the rapist or the victim?. As this country still manages to harbour a fair number of rapists and this paper is gonna talk about my views and ideas on how to tackle this national issue.

The current laws of India state that the sentence for rape is 7 years and is most definately a very lenient punishment for someone who has committed such an evil act. Although there have been many cries from all over the country for the passsing of the death sentence law for rape , it would most definately not reduce the number of rapes in the country. As that would ensure that the rapist kills their victim as to not leave any evidence, which could trace back to them. The option of chemical castration was overruled  saying the Constitution of India does not permit mutilation of a human body. which according to me was a very good idea ,as it has been adopted by other countries and has worked well.

The  Justice Verma Committee was recently summoned to look into crimes against women , they ruled against recommending death penalty even in the rarest of the rare rape cases,

The committee, which was tasked with suggesting legal reforms to deal with sexual assault cases, however said the minimum sentence for a rapist should be enhanced from 7 years to 10 and that life imprisonment must always mean jail for ‘the entire natural life of the convict’. It has also recommended increase in quantum of punishment in cases related to crime against women and children. Presenting the report on ‘Amendments to Criminal Law’, prepared within a month after consulting experts from India and abroad and going through suggestions made by various voluntary and government organisations.  An overwhelming majority of scholars and women’s organisations told the Justice Verma committee that they were strongly against death penalty.

After the gangrape and death of the para-medical student in Delhi last month that led to a nationwide uproar, Union Home Minister Sushilkumar Shinde had said that there was overwhelming public sentiment for granting death to a rape convict, and that even the government favoured death sentence in the rarest of the rare rape cases.

He had then announced formation of a three-member committee headed by the former Chief Justice of India, with former Chief Justice of Himachal Pradesh Justice Leila Seth and former Solicitor General of India Gopal Subramaniam as its members.

They said that there is considerable evidence that the deterrent effect of death penalty on serious crimes is actually a myth. According to the Working Group on Human Rights, the murder rate has declined consistently in India over the last 20 years despite the slowdown in the execution of death sentences since 1980. Hence the introduction of death penalty for rape may not have a deterrent effect. The Committee also said that in the proposed Criminal Law Amendment Bill, 2012, the minimum sentence for punishment for rape should be enhanced to a minimum of 10 years (currently it is 7 years) with maximum punishment being life imprisonment. This would be the ideal way of dealing with this issue.