Delayed justice for rape victims

Six months after the Criminal Law (Amendment) Bill 2013 became law, justice for rape victims in Hyderabad is still a long way off. In the last six months, 27 cases under the act have been registered in Cyberabad and about 30 in Hyderabad.

On Friday, the Delhi High Court will proceed with the sentencing of those found guilty in the Delhi gang rape case that prompted changes in the law. 

The National Crime Records Bureau statistics for AP show that fast track courts are urgently needed in AP to dispose of rape cases and not delay justice any further.

Of the total 4,058 pending trials by 2012, only 961 have been completed. There were convictions in 108 cases and discharge in 853.

About 3,084 cases of rape were pending trial at the end of 2012. In the one year, 2012, 74 rape cases were registered in Hyderabad. In 32 of these cases, the victims were below the age of 10.

In AP as a whole, 1,341 rape cases were registered in 2012. In 545 cases the victims were in the 18-30 age group. West Godavari district recorded the highest rate of crimes against women — 144 cases.

Supreme Court lawyer Pavan Duggal said that the law has been amended to provide more stringent punishment for people who have committed the offence. “However, the law never guarantees that the act it prohibits shall never happen. What the law guarantees is that if a person is caught and convicted committing an offence, one has to bear the consequences,” he said.

He said the challenge lies in creating the fast track courts. “In the Delhi gang rape case there was immense pressure to announce the verdict quickly, which is not so with other cases.”

Police says that it is trying to effectively implement the Act. Anurag Sharma, Hyderabad police commissioner said, “Copies of the Act have been circulated to all police stations and officials have been instructed to book people under it whenever they receive a complaint. Punishments under this Act are definitely stringent and new offences like stalking and voyeurism are now included. We are sensitising officials to be responsive.”

Acquaintances commit most rapes

Many recent rape incidents show that the perpetrators of the crime are known to the victims. According to the National Crime Records Bureau, in 811 of the total 1,341 rape cases recorded in 2012, the offenders were known to the victims and in 512 cases they were neighbours.

Another statistic is that the offenders are usually young, in the age group of 20-35. Their victims too are young. Some of the factors responsible for the high incidence of rape have been identified as lack of a quick procedure to punish the criminals, and lack of effective correctional services.

A troubling fact is that many rapists are repeat offenders, which calls for a new correctional model, both in terms of rehabilitation as well as closer surveillance of those who have served their sentences.

Minhaj Nasirabadi, a psychologist at the Apollo Hospitals, Hyderguda, said, “If a person commits an offence, the punishment  should be immediate and adequate. But, sadly in our system, the punishment comes much later which is not effective.  The punishment should be equivalent to the offence committed to stop such an offence again.”

He says the prisoner should be brought to a psychiatrist every 15 days or every month and there should be a regular update of his medication and behaviour.

P.K.N. Choudary, a psychiatrist with Chetana Society, said, “Such issues need to be addressed before they reach the prison. Even the smallest of offences should be reported immediately. An offender can turn into a rapist any day.”