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LATEST NEWS UPDATES | 18 retained as age of consent in anti-rape bill

18 retained as age of consent in anti-rape bill

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published Published on Mar 19, 2013   modified Modified on Mar 19, 2013
-The Times of India

Faced with all-around political opposition, the cabinet on Monday retained 18 as age of consent for consensual sex, graded punishment for stalking and voyeurism and deleted "persistent watching" as an offence while clearing a new law to protect women.

The changes were agreed to after a meeting on Monday where political leaders raised concerns ranging from genuine apprehensions to frivolous over the possibility of "misuse" of tough laws being proposed to curb crime against women.

The cabinet has, however, widened the definition of "disrobing" as an offense to cover private and public situations.

Harsher sentences for serious crime like rape contained in the post-Nirbhaya case Ordinance remain, but provisions relating to voyeurism and stalking generated most comments as leaders like Mulayam Singh Yadav, Lalu Prasad and Sharad Yadav expressed their reservations.

The apprehension that clauses relating to "mental distress" due to offensive staring might be applied in an arbitrary manner was shared by many in a meeting attended by only two women - leader of opposition in Lok Sabha Sushma Swaraj and Akali Dal's Harsimrat Kaur.

The all-party consensus was not easy to achieve in the light of demands for sweeping changes in the bill. Parliamentary affairs minister Kamal Nath said the bill will still be a tough law. He is understood to have told leaders unhappy with the bill that the all-party meeting is a not a private affair and their arguments will be judged in public.

Although the Cabinet's decision to lower the consent age to 16 years has been reviewed, a provision has been added in case of a "first time offender" who could be let off on probation instead of being charged with rape.

This means that if the male and female are both between 16 and 18 years, the male won't be charged with statutory rape in the first instance. This is seen as a compromise that protects a teenager where sex is consensual.

The amended bill is slated to be introduced in Parliament on Tuesday and both Houses have till Friday to pass the legislation.

With contentious areas sorted out, the criminal law amendment bill no longer faces serious opposition in Parliament. Congress and BJP leaderships are determined to be seen as committed to tougher laws dealing with crime against women.

The discussion at the all-party meeting did see some odd arguments being aired. Mulayam reportedly pointed that the bill could promote promiscuous behavior and referred to a party he attended. He also misread a reference to "transfer" dealing with trafficked women to argue that this might mean restrictions on posting of women officers.

Janata Dal (U)'s Sharad Yadav felt parts of the bill might end up killing romance, his view being that courtship involves pursuing a love interest - a reference to "following a woman" in the stalking section. Some others also felt this might be hard to define.

In view of the widespread concern over "misuse" of the proposed law, the changes might be considered are differentiating between first and second offenses of voyeurism and stalking. In the case of stalking, the first offense will be bailable.

Trinamool Congress, represented by Sudip Bandopadhyay and Kalyan Banerjee, took the position that states should also be consulted even if this delays the process a bit. TMC supported the age of consent for sex as 18 years, and favoured gradation of voyeurism and stalking.

For voyeurism, an initial offense will attract a sentence of one-three years and subsequently three-seven years in prison. For stalking, it will be up to three years in the first instance, and five years for repeat offenders.

The provision on "watching" or staring would be deleted as it is seen to be prone to misuse but the offense of "disrobing" will now apply to private and public situations. Leader of opposition in Rajya Sabha Arun Jaitley felt the act of disrobing should be crime irrespective of the situation.

The proposal to lower the age of consent to 16 years faced the most opposition with leaders wary of offending conservative opinion. With the debate over the clause tilted by an interpretation that the move is licence to promote licentiousness, the government has backtracked on the issue.

The Times of India, 19 March, 2013, http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/india/18-retained-as-age-of-consent-in-anti-rape-bill/articleshow/19054121.cms


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