-The Hindu The government must allow the online filing of first information reports in rape cases as that alone will ensure mandatory and automatic registration of complaints On January 18, 2013, Delhi police chief Neeraj Kumar announced that Zero First Information Reports (FIRs) may be registered on the basis of a woman’s statement at any police station irrespective of jurisdiction. This means women can file an FIR at any police station and...

-Bloomberg.com One of the most obscene moments after the death of the gang-rape victim in New Delhi was a tweet by Narendra Modi, the chief minister of the Indian state of Gujarat, offering regret and condolences to the dead woman’s family. Modi, who has quelled restive minorities by allowing attackers to subject women to unspeakable horrors, has done more than any man to numb his prudish country to sexual violence. Yet he...

-The Times of India Even as the nation pushes and the government debates lowering the age limit in juvenile crimes in the light of the Delhi gang rape, National Crime Records Bureau (NCRB) data shows that most juvenile crimes are committed by those in the age group of 16-18 years. Notably, the minor accused in the Delhi gang rape, who was allegedly the most brutal among the six accused, is 17...

-The Hindustan Times Rapes by juveniles have increased fivefold in a decade since 2000, when its definition was modified to include children of 16 to 18 years under the category. The year 2011 recorded 1,149 rapes by juveniles — most of them between 16-18 years. In 2000, the number was just 198. As per the modified Juvenile Justice Act, the maximum punishment for a crime committed by a juvenile is three years — as...

-The Hindu The Delhi bus rape has galvanised the country on the neglected issue of women’s safety. A look at several cities shows the need for large scale reform – of the police, the law, the legal process, and security in public places. One thought, one hoped, it would not happen in this case but most unfortunately, it did. In all the outrage, the outpouring of horror, grief and anger, that devastating...