THE STRING OF RAPE INCIDENTS- IS IT THE DEFICIENCY IN THE INDIAN JUDICIAL ADMINISTRATION SYSTEM?

 THE PONDERING THOUGHT-

We talk about constitutional values, religious beliefs, caste system, economic lines, fundamental rights, women empowerment, the concept of equality, and whatnot. We being Indians are proud to be the citizen of India which is the world's largest democracy but when it comes to the safety and protection of the daughters of the nation, the Indian Judicial System witnessed repeated failure.

Despite so many laws, amendments, bills, enforcement procedures, and machinery why our judicial system is a failure? Why justice is always delayed? Why our daughters are not safe today? Whether this heinous crime is due to unemployment? Whether the values and beliefs of the Indian system are only for girls and women? Whether the movement 'Beti Bachao' is just a phrase and it does not hold any significance concerning its implementation? Why there are a pendency of cases and a high level of corruption?

The Supreme Court in 2017 has launched a mission to remove the existing deficiencies in the criminal justice system. What about that?

One had thought that the Nirbhaya rape case of 2012 would have served as a wake-up call. But in 2013 India witnessed the Shakti Mills gang-rape case, followed by the Baduan gang rape and murder in the subsequent year of 2014, and then that infamous Sivaganga and Kandhamal gang rape incidents in the year 2015.

Not only this, the subsequent year marked the Bulandshahr gang rape and in the year 2017, the Unnao gang rape was in the picture. Last year had many horrible incidents of gang rape; first of the Hyderabad veterinarian, followed by a similar rape occurrence in Buxar. Why the human values are depriving? Whether they are a manifestation of our patriarchal society? Are men incapable of understanding the true sense of the word 'consent'?

These repeated and recurring incidents of rape are a reflection of our collective failure as individuals and a declaration of the depravity in our human values. But above all, they are a manifestation and icon of our patriarchal ridden society and a culture that normalizes sexual violence.

To my utter surprise, people are tweeting over the Hathras gang-rape that they condemn over the incident but at the same time stated that sex is a natural urge in men and in the Indian Society, men can have sex through marriage only.  But with massive increasing unemployment, large number of men is not able to marry and thus, as a result of which they commit such kind of activity.

HATHRAS HAPPENING-

The inhumane brutal gang rape of a 19-year-old Dalit girl in Hathras and her subsequent death should shock every sophisticated person's conscience. The merciless and heartless manner in which four men attacked an innocent young girl thereby leaving her paralyzed with severe injuries to her spinal cord, served as a dreadful reminder that as a nation we have once again failed for our country's daughters and their safety. Her tongue was ruthlessly cut and cruel attempts to hamper and strangulate her are nothing but a sort of a reflection of our failure to flush the deep societal anxiety which has systematically edged in.

Critics:

It is a matter of shame that despite the division of the society based on caste, class, religion, our polity failed to instill and implement the constitutional values of equality within society.

Why Dalits are raped and murdered? Why Mahatma Gandhi is celebrated and on the other hand, Dalits are humiliated? Why Dalits over the years are threatened and killed? Where are the societal norms? Is the Indian caste system is a surviving social hierarchy?

The belief that the powerful can getaway and a distinct system applies to them, is a failure of our administrative authorities who need to address the existing imbalance of powers as soon as possible. I understand that such repeated incidents and occurrences are a failure of policing in our country and, of course, our criminal justice system where Rule of Law is a governing point.

It should be pondered upon that if our judicial system and its administration are effective, then why the nation is repeatedly witnessing a chain of rape incidents? Why people don't understand that what they have done is a 'rape'? Mere amendments in the legal provisions are sufficient to dissolve the crime rate?

The recent National Crime Records Bureau data reveals the crime rate per lakh women population has increased from 58.8 in year 018 to 62.4 percent in the year 2019. Shamefully, rape is one of the fastest emerging crimes in India!

The definition of 'rape' under Section 375 of the Indian Penal Code, 1980 has been amended after the Nirbhaya Case but has this step proven to be effective? Has this change made people think over the seriousness of an offense? Has this change made people change their perception towards girls and women?

No, not really! Even today, girls are women are bound by religion, values, and norms. They are not safe if even they cover themselves from top to bottom. This is humanity in today's time. It is not the fault of girls who wear short clothes or long clothes, it solely about the men having a dominant mindset thereby considering the women a sex toy for their needs. We now need serious and stringent reforms concerning the present judicial administration system.

Is the death penalty a solution to women's violence?

No matter how enraged or angry we are today, the demand for the immediate death of the accused and their public shooting (encounters), as alleged to have happened after the Hyderabad case, doesn't bode well for a country where due process was afforded even to Ajmal Kasab.

It should be noted that the Research associates from the "Centre on the Death Penalty" at the National Law University, Delhi, note that "to believe that the death sentence is a solution to violence against women, so deeply instilled in the society, is to provide a false sense of security to women.

Not only this, media and police officials are no way back in showing their inhumane conduct toward the incident. What can be done for the corruptive practices used by media and police force to save themselves?

The first and foremost thing is to bring reforms in the Indian Judicial system and to change the deficient system. Also, we can begin by directing our attention and concern towards "structural societal change that addresses the asymmetric power relationship between men and women in our nation."

 This needs to be followed and accompanied by a deep cleaning of our perceptions and thought process and a drastic/effective change in our social conditioning. Further, we need to change our inherent attitude towards women and the role-play which our historical culture attributes to them in our so-called society. It sounds rather over-simple but we need a reform in our psychological outlook that routinely promotes inequalities against women.

The ruthless Nirbhaya attack and the aforementioned several subsequent incidents should serve as an unpleasant reminder that we can no longer wait. We need to act collectively and make-up. If we fail to do so, there will come a time when that glimmering flame in our hearts would get extinguished and then each of us would be complicit the next time another daughter of our country is brutalized.

Gurneet Kaur

BBA LLB (H)

ICFAI UNIVERSITY, DEHRADUN

Disclaimer: This article is the personal opinion of the author. The views and opinions expressed in this article are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect the official policy or position of any Indian Government or any other Government of the world. This article is only opinion and does not render any personal or professional advice.