There is a motive for every crime. There are passion crimes where people kill each other due to personal animosity arising out of love, hate, ego or morality. Cheating, forgery, embezzlement, etc., are carried out due to financial reasons. But rape is probably the only crime that is committed for the instant fulfilment of the sexual urge and it does not have any compelling ground. In India, as per NCRB records, 35,000-40,000 rapes take place every year. That means almost 100-110 rapes a day. Also nearly 1.5 lakh rape cases are pending trial in courts across India. The shocking fact is that the conviction rate in rape cases is less than 20%.
Why is the number of rape cases so high? And what can be done to change this scenario? Here are some suggestions.
1. Death penalty must be made compulsory in brutal rape and murder cases: In a country where rapes are so common, death penalty is a must. For that, suitable amendments have to be made in the Indian Penal Code and Criminal Procedure Code. Culprits in cases of rape and murder must be dealt with death penalty. Death penalties can bring deterrence in countries like India where the literacy rate is low. The US has the toughest laws in the world for crimes against the human body. It is one among the 10 worst countries security-wise but Americans argue it could be worse were tough laws not in place. The same is the case with India. Severity of punishment can prevent people from committing heinous crimes.
2. Rape convicts should not come out of jail, even on parole, as long as they are alive: The bigger question here is whether to hang the culprit who has raped a woman but has not killed her. Legal experts say if we make death penalty a must for brutal rapes, then there is a possibility of the criminal killing his victim as he would think that if in any case he was going to be hanged, then why leave behind any trace of evidence.After the brutal ‘Nirbhaya’ rape case in 2012, many women’s forums had argued for ensuring that rape accused do not come out of jail in their entire life once they are arrested, thereby meaning a life sentence with no parole till they live. Their argument was that in the matter of rape, surety of punishment was more important than severity of punishment.
3. Trial should be completed within a month: In a rape case there is no scope of having more witnesses if the identity of the culprit is established. The concerned woman’s statement is more than sufficient and medical evidence can also be collected within no time. With a day-to-day hearing and with the evidence available it is very much possible to complete the trial in 30 days in a sessions court. A lot of courts are already doing this. In fact, a court in Rajasthan finished trial and delivered judgment in a case of rape of a foreigner in 14 days a couple of years ago.
4. Appeal system in rape case should be time-limited: Parliament can always make a law to limit the duration of appeal period in various courts after a sessions court has given death penalty or life imprisonment to a rape convict.
a) Duration of appeal period in high courts could be limited to 60 days. b) Duration of appeal in Supreme Court could be limited to 90 days. c) Duration for consideration of appeal/mercy petitions, etc., could be limited to 365 days from the date of rejection of appeal by the Supreme Court. In that scenario a rapist could go to prison for the whole of his life or be hanged as per the sentence within a year itself. This system is more feasible and practical if followed in India; these many days are required as lower court records would take a certain time to reach higher courts/higher authorities.
5. The present definition of rape has to be narrowed down: Over the years, the definition of rape has really become very lengthy. As per the present-day definition of rape, even cohabitation of a woman with a man for several years will turn into a crime of rape if the woman complains that she stayed with the man as he had promised to marry her or given false hopes on other accounts. In these kinds of cases, the woman could have had a consensual sexual relationship with her partner but fallen out with him later due to some reason. These kinds of cases where there was consent given by the woman, however misguided it could be, should be taken out of the present-day rape definition and put under the crime falling under ‘cheating’. The definition of rape should only include a crime where a woman has been sexually assaulted.
For a woman, rape is the worst form of crime. The least we can do is to stop the trivialisation of this gory offence. We should change the situation where rape culprits are allowed to roam about freely for many years as the trial in the case goes on. The time has come to deal with rapists appropriately and immediately. The severity of the crime must be met with equal severity of the punishment. Proportions matter.
Rishi Raj Singh
Director General of Prisons, Kerala. Views are personal
Email: ipsrishirajsingh@gmail.com