Gang-rape of a 23-year old girl in a running bus in New Delhi on December 16 last leading to country-wide protests forced the Government to constitute a three-member enquiry committee headed by retired Justice J.S. Verma of the Supreme Court. Conscious of the great urgency of checkmating a disastrous social aberration that is likely to make the security and dignity of women in the country vulnerable, Justice Verma completed the stupendous task of making a comprehensive 630-page report within 29 days, which is one half of the time it was allowed.
The document is more an indictment of all stakeholders than a simple report to which we are used. It spares none, administration, police, civil society, politicians, parliamentarians and the rest. In a sense the report is a verdict on eroding social values and responsibilities, ringing alarm of disaster on a very large scale if we do not nip the evil in the bud. The simplest impression one gets after reading the report is that our country is far behind in responding to internationally established norms of providing security and safety to womenfolk in their work places, educational and training institutions or elsewhere while running the chores of life. It makes clear on us that with incredible deficiency that we have in providing security to women, we cannot claim to be a highly civilized society with modern outlook.
The report touches on almost all aspects that arise when security and safety of women is to be ensured. Foremost is the need of amending existing laws governing rape, gang-rape and other sexual crimes against women. The Committee favoured laws seeking minimum 20 years imprisonment for gang-rape and life-term for rape and murder but refrained from prescribing death penalty. The reason for not recommending death penalty is that the majority of women with whom the Committee interacted rejected death punishment believing that it was not the real deterrent. The Committee observed that there was growing disapproval of death penalty among the international community. It also rejected chemical castration of rapist as it violates the constitution. The Committee recommends that nobody including police and public servants should have immunity if indicted for sexual crime against women.
The Committee has dealt with new offences against women hitherto not taken into cognizance by law and has suggested stiffer punishment for indecencies like disrobing a woman, voyeurism, stalking and trafficking. Even minor sexual misconducts like intentional touching, spoken words and gestures made as advances do not escape the stern eye of the Committee. However, the panel has turned down the suggestion of reducing the juvenile age from 18 to 16.
Significantly, the panel has reached wider areas of the subject and recommended disqualification of MPs and MLAs charged with heinous crimes like rape, measures to check khap panchayats and trial of personnel of security forces under ordinary criminal laws. In a forthright observation, the Committee has also indirectly indicted the Delhi Chief Minister for trying to pass the buck when the question of law and order in the National Capital Territory comes up. The Committee has very rightly demanded the Union Government to immediately clarify the territorial responsibility for maintaining law and order in the national capital and remove the confusion that is prevailing now. Interestingly the Committee has been very critical of Delhi police in mishandling the peacefully demonstrating youth by lathi charging them and injuring several of them. The Committee has expressed reservations on Delhi police handling the case of gang-rape. However, the Committee has expressed its dismay and disappointment on insensitivity of the civil society in regard to heinous crimes like the one that has happened. It laments why the passers-by or onlookers just stepped aside and did not come to the rescue of the victims while they were lying on the roadside almost half dressed. Why should this type of insensitivity grip the society? The Committee comes to the conclusion that apprehensive of vengeful treatment of police, passers-by shy away from reporting the matter to police or taking the initiative of coming to the help of the victim. In an overall estimation, the Committee concludes that “Delhi gang-rape incident has disclosed the failure of many public functionaries responsible for traffic regulation, maintenance of law and order, and more importantly their low and skewed priority of dealing with complaints of sexual assault.”
Now with this report, incidentally made public by the Chairman of the Committee against the practice of keeping such reports a confidential document, the Government and the civil society, both shall have to join heads and discuss the contents of the report sentence by sentence in order to decide how to ensure security of women and repair the damaged profile of our civil society. We owe an apology to women of India and we have to own the responsibility of protecting their rights an ensuring their safety.
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