Crime and common sense

Rape is a heinous act. But while society has, by and large, recognised the grave import and consequences of this crime, the laws governing...

Rape is a heinous act. But while society has, by and large, recognised the grave import and consequences of this crime, the laws governing rape, as well as their interpretation and implementation, are found to be grossly discriminatory. In 1979, four Delhi-based academics even felt constrained to write an open letter to the Supreme Court SC, decrying its ruling on a case involving the rape of Mathura, a tribal girl, in a police station.

The worthy judges had, in that instance, ruled that since Mathura did not ostensibly fight off her tormentors her body bore no evidence of this she must have consented to the act of intercourse. In the nation-wide outcry against the judgment, questions of what constitutes 8220;consent8221; were raised, as also the issue of custodial rape. But despite some amendments to the law in the early eighties, rapists continue to escape punishment, with the conviction rate of the crime estimated to be just four per cent.

Two recent developments could help focus national attention once more on this most blatant of crimes against women. The first was the Supreme Court judgment of Monday which ruled that the victim of rape, stating on oath that she was forcibly subjected to sexual intercourse, has to be believed unless there was evidence that her testimony is 8220;inherently improbable8221;.

On Tuesday, the National Commission for Women NCW came out with its recommendations regarding amendments to the law relating to rape. Very sensibly, it rejected the proposition that in order to prevent rapes, rapists must be awarded the death penalty. As has been argued in these columns, it is not the severity of the crime but its certainty and speed of punishment that deters such criminals. Besides this, there are a number of other valuable suggestions put forward by the NCW, which was responding without doubt to the clamour for reform from the ground garnered through the 18 state-level workshops it held before writing this report. For instance, marital rape has been recognised as a crime by a government-instituted commission for the first time ever. Thus far, the law does not punish a man for having forcible sex with his wife if she is above 15 years of age, since it is based on the culturally accepted notion that a woman, and her body, 8220;belongs8221; to her husband.

Another long-time demand from activists has been the expansion of the definition of rape which has always be seen in terms of penile penetration to include other forms of sexual assault. There are other related issues, like that of obsolete laws. Section 155 of the Indian Evidence Act allows the past sexual history of the victim to be used as evidence against her.

The NCW has asked for this section be deleted. It has also demanded that statutory provisions be made to counsel the victim and provide her with legal aid and compensation. These are suggestions worthy of the most urgent scrutiny and translation into law. Precious time has already been lost and many women have had to pay the price for the apathy of the State to their personal tragedies. It is time to make up for this unacceptable indifference.