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Aparajita Bill: After the rape and murder of a trainee doctor in Kolkata's RG Kar Hospital, Mamata government has passed a new bill regarding women's safety. The bill has a provision for speedy completion of investigation and termination of trial in cases related to rape and gang rape. Apart from this, a provision of death penalty has also been made for all the culprits of rape and gang rape.
The Aparajita Women and Children (West Bengal Criminal Law Amendment) Bill 2024 was introduced. If this bill becomes law, it will apply to the whole of Bengal. The amendment has made sexual exploitation of women and children non-bailable.
Mamata government's new bill amends the Indian Penal Code (BNS), Indian Civil Security Code (BNSS) and Protection of Children from Sexual Offences Act (POCSO).
The bill provides for death penalty for all those convicted of rape and gang rape. Along with this, the police will have to complete the investigation of such cases within 21 days. If the investigation is not completed within the stipulated time, then 15 more days can be sought but the reason for the delay will have to be told to the court. In cases of sexual exploitation of women and children, the hearing has to be completed within one month of filing the charge sheet.
However, the Bill has just been passed by the Legislative Assembly and is yet to be approved by the Governor and the President to become a law.
This is not the first time that laws have had to be changed for women's safety. Earlier too, laws have been changed to give harsher punishment to rapists. Some states have also changed the law but the situation has not changed despite the change in law. Statistics from the National Crime Records Bureau show that 86 rapes still occur every day in the country.
After the Nirbhaya incident, the rapists were awarded death sentence
On the night of 16 December 2012, a girl was gang-raped in a moving bus on Delhi Road. Meanwhile, the miscreants crossed all limits. Later the girl died. This incident shook the country.
After the Nirbhaya incident, the law was made very strict. The definition of rape was also changed to reduce crime against women. Earlier, only forced or unconsensual relations were included in the scope of rape, but after this incident, the law was amended in 2013 to increase its scope. It is also called Nirbhaya Act.
Not only this, the Juvenile Act was amended. After this, if a teenager below the age of 16 and 18 years commits a heinous crime, he will be treated as an adult. This amendment was made because one of the six Nirbhaya convicts was a minor and was released within three years.
Apart from this, provision of death penalty was also made in rape cases. After this, if the victim dies after rape or falls into a coma-like condition, then the culprit can also be given death penalty.
However, all this did not improve. Statistics show that before 2012, an average of 25 thousand rape cases were reported every year. But after that this figure reached above 30 thousand. In 2013 alone, more than 33 thousand cases were reported. In 2016, this figure reached close to 39 thousand.
Andhra Pradesh also changed the law 5 years ago
On 27 November 2019, a 27-year-old girl was raped and murdered in Hyderabad, the capital of Andhra Pradesh. She was named 'Disha'. The police had arrested four accused in this case but later all four were killed in an encounter. All four tried to escape from police custody.
After the Disha case, there were protests across the country. After this incident, the Andhra Pradesh government introduced a new bill for strict punishment in cases of rape and gang rape. It was named Disha Bill. Under which the criminal law was amended.
The Disha Bill provided for punishment within 21 days in cases of rape and gang rape. The bill provided that the investigation should be completed within 7 days and the trial within 14 days. This bill provided for death penalty for rapists. Not only this, the bill also provided that if a person harasses a woman on social media, he will be jailed for 2 years.
However, this bill has not yet become a law. According to reports, the Andhra Pradesh Disha Bill has not even received the President's assent yet.
NCRB data shows that 1,086 cases of rape were registered in Andhra Pradesh in 2019 while 1,095 cases were registered in 2020. However, there has been a huge drop in rape cases in 2022 as compared to 2019. 621 cases of rape were reported in 2022.
In how many cases of rape is there punishment?
According to NCRB data, the conviction rate in rape cases is 27 to 28 percent. That is, the accused can be proven guilty in 27 out of 100 rape cases. In the remaining cases, the accused are released.
The report said that by the end of 2022, about two lakh rape cases were pending in courts across the country. In 2022, hearing could be completed in only eighteen and a half thousand cases. In which the trial ended. Out of these, the culprits were punished in about 5,000 cases. Whereas in more than 12 thousand cases the accused were released.
Not only this, despite the provision of death penalty in rape cases, only five criminals have been sentenced to death in 24 years. In 2004, Dhananjay Chatterjee was hanged in a 1990 rape case. In March 2020, all four Nirbhaya convicts Mukesh, Vinay, Pawan and Akshay were hanged in Tihar Jail.
What is the law regarding rape?
Section 65 of the Indian Penal Code provides 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. There is also a provision for life imprisonment as long as the culprit is alive. There is also a provision for death penalty if found guilty in such a case. Apart from this, provision for fine has also been made.
Those found guilty in cases of gang rape can face a punishment ranging from 20 years to life imprisonment and a fine. Under Section 70(2) of the BNS, those found guilty of gang rape of a minor can be punished with life imprisonment as well as death. There is also a provision for fine in such a case.
Under Section 66 of the BNS, if the victim dies or goes into a coma in a rape case, the culprit will be sentenced to 20 years in prison. This punishment can be extended to life imprisonment or even death.
Apart from this, POCSO Act was implemented in 2012 to prevent sexual exploitation of minors. Earlier there was no provision for death penalty in this law, but in 2019, it was amended and provision for death penalty was also made. Under this law, if life imprisonment is sentenced, then the culprit will have to spend his entire life in jail. This means that the culprit cannot come out of jail alive.