– In India, 3 women are raped every hour, that is, 1 in every 20 minutes.
– In more than 96% of rape cases in the country, the accused are known to the woman.
– In rape cases, only 27 out of 100 accused are punished, the rest are acquitted.
These three figures show that despite strict laws, neither the cases of rape are decreasing in our country nor the conviction rate is increasing.
Statistics of the National Crime Records Bureau (NCRB), a central government agency, show that more than four lakh crimes against women are registered in India every year. These crimes include not only rape, but also crimes like molestation, dowry death, kidnapping, trafficking, acid attack.
Cases of crime against women are mentioned because some recent cases of rape have shaken the country. The case of rape and subsequent murder of a resident doctor in Kolkata is in the news. This rape case of Kolkata has brought back memories of the Nirbhaya case of 2012. Protests are being held against it not only in Kolkata but in many cities across the country. The accused has been arrested, but there is a demand to give him the harshest punishment.
West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee has also written a letter to Prime Minister Narendra Modi demanding provision for strict punishment in rape cases.
On the night of 16 December 2012, a young woman was gang-raped in a moving bus on the streets of Delhi. During this, the brutes crossed all limits. Later, the young woman died. This incident shook the country.
After the Nirbhaya incident, the law was made very strict. The definition of rape was also changed so that crimes against women could be reduced. Earlier, only relations made with force or without consent were considered rape. But later in 2013, the law was amended and its scope was increased.
Not only this, the Juvenile Law was amended. After this, if a teenager below the age of 16 or 18 commits a heinous crime, he will be treated like an adult. This amendment was made because one of the six Nirbhaya convicts was a minor and was released in three years.
Apart from this, provision for death penalty was also made in rape cases. After this, if the victim dies after rape or goes into a coma-like condition, then the culprit can also be given the death penalty.
However, despite all this, there has been no improvement. Statistics show that before 2012, an average of 25 thousand cases of rape were registered every year. But after this, this figure reached above 30 thousand. In 2013 itself, more than 33 thousand cases were registered. In 2016, the figure reached close to 39 thousand.
The statistics of crimes against women are frightening. In 2012, 2.44 lakh cases of crimes against women were registered. Whereas, in 2022, more than 4.45 lakh cases were registered. That is, more than 1200 cases every day.
At the same time, rape cases have also increased. According to the NCRP report, 24 thousand 923 cases of rape were registered in 2012. That is, an average of 68 cases every day. Whereas, 31 thousand 516 cases were registered in 2022. According to this, an average of 86 cases were registered every day. That is, 3 women were raped every hour and 1 woman was raped every 20 minutes.
If we talk about states, the highest number of rape cases are reported in Rajasthan. In 2022, 5,399 cases of rape were registered in Rajasthan. Uttar Pradesh was at second place with 3,690 cases.
In most rape cases, the accused is someone known to the victim. Statistics show that in more than 96 percent of rape cases, the accused is someone known to the victim.
In 2022, 31,516 cases of rape were registered. In 30,514 of these cases, the accused was known to the victim. Out of these, 2,324 accused were family members of the victim. Whereas, in 14,582 cases, the accused was an online friend, live-in partner or a person who lured the victim into marriage. At the same time, there were 13,548 cases in which the accused was a family friend, neighbor or acquaintance.
According to NCRB data, the conviction rate in rape cases is only 27 to 28 percent. That is, the accused is convicted only in 27 out of 100 rape cases, and in the rest of the cases he is acquitted.
The report shows that by the end of 2022, about two lakh cases of rape were pending in courts across the country. In 2022, the trial was completed in only 18 and a half thousand of these cases. Of the cases in which the trial was completed, the culprit was punished in only about 5 thousand cases. Whereas, in more than 12 thousand cases the accused was acquitted.
Unlike India, the conviction rate in rape cases in Britain is more than 60 percent. In Canada too, the conviction rate in rape cases is more than 40 percent.
A lawyer named Rebecca M. John told the news agency Reuters that judges in India shy away from punishing rape accused. They believe that if there is a lack of evidence, they acquit the accused, whereas they should at least give some punishment for it so that he can be convicted.
Not only this, despite the provision of death penalty in rape cases, only five rapists have been sentenced to death in 24 years. In 2004, Dhananjay Chatterjee
New criminal laws were implemented two months ago. After this, the Indian Judicial Code (BNS) has replaced the IPC.
Rape is defined in Section 375 of the IPC, while punishment for it is provided in Section 376. Whereas, rape is defined in Section 63 of the Indian Judicial Code and punishment is provided in Sections 64 to 70. Under Section 376 of the IPC, if found guilty of rape, there is a provision of imprisonment up to 10 years. The same punishment has been kept in Section 64 of the BNS.
In BNS, strict punishment has been made for raping minors. If found guilty of raping a girl under 16 years of age, a minimum punishment of 20 years has been provided. This punishment can be extended to life imprisonment. If the convict is sentenced to life imprisonment, he will spend his entire life in jail.
There is a provision in Section 65 of BNS that if a person is found guilty of raping a girl below 12 years of age, he can be punished with imprisonment ranging from 20 years to life imprisonment. In this too, the punishment of life imprisonment will remain as long as the culprit is alive. There is also a provision of death penalty if found guilty in such cases. Apart from this, provision of fine has also been made.
In cases of gang rape, if found guilty, the punishment is from 20 years to life imprisonment and fine. Under Section 70(2) of the BNS, if found guilty of gang rape of a minor, the punishment will be at least life imprisonment and can also be death sentence. There is also a provision of fine in such cases. Whereas, in the IPC, there was a provision of death penalty only if found guilty of gang rape of a girl below 12 years of age.
Under Section 66 of the BNS, if a woman dies in a rape case or goes into a coma, the culprit will be sentenced to a minimum of 20 years. This punishment can be extended to life imprisonment or even death penalty.
A new section 69 has been added to the Indian judicial code. Under this, if a man has sexual relations with a woman by making false promises of marriage, employment or promotion, he can be sentenced to 10 years of imprisonment. A fine will also be imposed. There is also a provision of 10 years of imprisonment for marrying by hiding one’s identity.
It was only after the 2012 Nirbhaya incident that a law was introduced for minor victims of sexual violence. This law was POCSO or Protection of Children from Sexual Offenses Act. This law was introduced in 2012. It makes sexual abuse against children a crime.
This law applies to both boys and girls below the age of 18. Its purpose is to protect children from crimes related to sexual harassment and obscenity. Under this law, people below the age of 18 are considered children and strict punishment has been provided for crimes against children.
Earlier, there was no death penalty in the POCSO Act, but in 2019, it was amended and provision for death penalty was also made. Under this law, if a person is sentenced to life imprisonment, then he will have to spend his entire life in jail. This means that the accused cannot come out of jail alive.
The NCRB report shows that in 2021, about 54 thousand cases were registered under the POCSO Act across the country. Whereas, earlier in 2020, 47 thousand cases were registered. In the five years between 2017 and 2021, more than 2.20 lakh cases have been registered under the POCSO Act.
However, the conviction rate in the POCSO Act is quite low. Statistics show that in five years, the trial of 61,117 accused has been completed, out of which only 21,070 i.e. about 35% have been convicted. The remaining 37,383 were acquitted.
Source (PTI) (NDTV) (HINDUSTANTIMES)