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LATEST NEWS UPDATES | Group of ministers to tighten anti-rape law -Vishwa Mohan & Himanshi Dhawan

Group of ministers to tighten anti-rape law -Vishwa Mohan & Himanshi Dhawan

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published Published on Mar 13, 2013   modified Modified on Mar 13, 2013
-The Times of India

The government is redrafting the anti-rape law following serious concerns raised by Cabinet members that the proposed legislation was loosely-worded and open to misuse, and did not account for new social realities of a growing women workforce and inadequacies of law enforcing agencies.

The criminal law amendment bill was urgently referred to a group of ministers after objections were raised at Tuesday morning's Cabinet meeting over the formulation of offences dealing with voyeurism, sexual harassment, stalking, unwelcome physical contact and abuse of positions of authority. There was also growing concern that the age of consent - irrespective of whether it is pegged at 16 or 18 years - may face opposition on the ground that it was at odds with Muslim personal law.

The GoM met for two hours in the evening and has begun to frame the changes that will be debated again on Wednesday.

The amended bill is to be considered afresh by the Cabinet on Thursday and then placed before an all-party meeting called for March 18 as the government scrambles to seek wide ranging consensus on the proposed law that is intended to replace the post-Nirbhaya ordinance defining a range of sexual offences and tough sentences.

Discussions in the GoM appeared to veer towards lowering age of consent to 16 years from 18 and tightening the definition of rape to make it a gender specific crime where the victim is female. Minister for women and child development Krishna Tirath has voiced objections to lowering the age of consent, but it is felt offences against minors can be addressed by a separate law.

Official sources said the provisions of the law could be misused to harass and settle scores and a far from efficient and accountable criminal justice system may be given sweeping powers. It was also felt safeguards were needed to balance the onus of innocence resting too strongly on a male accused.

Sensing that the rethink on provisions of the ordinance will expose the government to attacks from women's activists and political opponents, the government has called an all-party meeting on March 18. The government is cutting things fine as it must pass the bill before the budget session goes into a break on March 22.

If the bill passes muster with the opposition, it will be introduced in Parliament latest by March 20 - giving members of both Houses three days to discuss and pass it before Parliament adjourns for a month-long recess. The government cannot be certain that the main opposition BJP will be ready to bail it out by agreeing to the bill's urgent passage.

Sharp differences have arisen within the government over lowering the age of consent to 16 years, making definition of rape gender-specific and graded punishment for other crimes like voyeurism and stalking after it was felt the bill's current form makes it an odd fit for India's many layered society still strongly influenced by conservative and feudal elements.

This is the second time that lack of consensus in the government has forced it to defer the anti-rape law in six days. Last Thursday, the bill was not brought on agenda so that rough edges could be smoothed out, but the efforts were clearly inadequate as a GoM was set up.

Speaking after the GoM meeting, finance minister P Chidambaram said, "Now we have completed the work substantially. I think we will require another hour or so. Sections that we have covered, all points of view have been taken into account and reconciled and the final version has emerged and we can do that for the remaining sections also and tomorrow the work will be complete."

At Tuesday's Cabinet meeting, some ministers pitched for adequate safeguards with regard to provisions on stalking to check false complaints. It is understood that all ministers with a law background - external affairs minister Salman Khurshid, telecom minister Kapil Sibal, law minister Ashwini Kumar, information and broadcasting minister Manish Tewari and Chidambaram pointed to various infirmities in the bill.

A view emerged at the Cabinet meeting that the bill might not make it through Parliament in its present form as it would invite the opposition of several sections. There was concern that provisions dealing to specifying age of consent might rub conservative Muslim opinion the wrong way as attaining puberty is seen by some interpretations of religious law as the relevant factor.

The sense emerging from the Cabinet deliberations was that the bill seemed like an artificial graft imposing "Scandinavian liberalism" on a feudal society. The tough definitions do take into account contemporary Indian reality of a growing women workforce and the far from settled dynamics this has resulted in. There were concerns that the radical provisions left in the hands of law enforcement agencies were prone to misuse as well.

However, the government's two steps forward, one back attitude does create an impression of ambivalence and lack of clear political vision. The government can be danger of losing the credibility it sought to gain by coming across as being committed to tough laws on crime against women.

There were also differing views on the provisions regarding voyeurism, which is proposed to be made criminal offence, and lowering of age of consensual sex to 16 years from the current 18 years. Tirath is strongly in favour of keeping the age of consent at 18 years.

The stand is reflected in the Protection of Children against Sexual Offences (POCSO) that was passed by Parliament last year. In fact, Tirath had written to the PM expressing dissatisfaction at not being consulted on the anti-rape law despite the fact that it was an issue concerning women's welfare that her ministry is mandated with.

While Tirath is keen to continue with 18 years as the age of consent, a significant section of the Cabinet is of the view that this should be lowered to 16 years keeping in view the contemporary reality of greater sexual awareness and increasing sexual activity among teenagers.

On the issue of stalking and voyeurism, some ministers are of the view that the provisions were "prone to misuse" and should only be incorporated after putting in place sufficient safeguards, including harsh penalty for lodging false cases.

There are also differences on some other issues like replacing the term "rape" — which is more gender specific — with " sexual assault" — which is gender neutral. Some ministers were of the view that the law should be made gender specific so that the accused can only be a man but the victim can be both boys and girls. The GoM were of the view that the issue of rape and sexual offences against boys could be dealt with under POCSO.

The new area of concern was about the new anti-rape law being in conflict with the codes of Muslim Personal Law that allows a girl to be married after she reaches puberty. While this is already in violation of the prohibition of child marriage act, some members of the GoM felt that bringing in a new law that was in violation of the Muslim personal law could stir up a hornet's nest.

Home Minister Sushilkumar Shinde, whose ministry is piloting the Bill, expressed confidence that the legislation will be passed by March 22. Despite platitudes the government is aware that the issue has become a political hot potato. Some parties like the Samajwadi Party have serious reservations on certain provisions of the ordinance claiming they are prone to misuse.

The Criminal Laws Ordinance, which made anti-rape laws more stringent, was promulgated on February 3 in the wake of public outrage over the December 16 Delhi gang rape. The Ordinance has to be approved by Parliament before its month-long recess from March 22, failing which it would lapse on April 4.

The Times of India, 13 March, 2013, http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/india/Group-of-ministers-to-tighten-anti-rape-law/articleshow/18939402.cms


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