Dr T D Radhakrishnan Nair, Kozhikode
Child abusers deserve proper punishment and corrective measures as follow up. The sad reality is that even severe punishments could not correct such wrongdoers normally. Mindset makes a person criminal either all of a sudden or as a result of calculated moves. Outburst of emotional instincts immediately lead to syntheses of brain chemicals which transport the electric impulses of emotional feelings of crime from brain to the muscles of action. Here intervention of commonsense to prevent wrongdoings hardly happens. Educating criminals in strict long-term confinements and training them to develop proper mindset alone can help. Food control also has great importance. Meat proteins help formation of brain chemicals for transporting impulses of aggression, hatred etc.
Dr P P Joy, Kaloor
One word answer to Madras High Court judge’s observation to punish child abusers with castration for better results is just ‘nonsense.’ We have enough laws and rules to protect citizens life and property and also to properly punish/reform law-breakers. Of course, child abusers deserve maximum punishment as per the existing laws and if general public opinion is in favour of more severe punishment, then lawmakers can and should go for amendments to the IPC to get the desired effect. The judges’ mind for a movement might have gone to BC where the law of “eye for eye and tooth for tooth” existed. We believe we live in a civilised society and if any deficiency exist in the present legal system they need changes for better outcome not through barbarism but by changes suiting the public at large.
Dr Asok Sanker, Parippally
Castration which is not accepted in a civilised society is the drug of choice for crimes like child abuse which too is not accepted by a civic society. An eye for an eye should be the policy adopted for such crimes which I feel is increasing in our society in the recent past. Rape which is sexual intercourse with a woman against her wish is recognised as a crime in the IPC but sexual assault on a child is more cruel which animals too won’t resort to their kids. I feel that such acts of persons should be construed as psychiatric illness and treated in a mental asylum and only then could we visualise an end to such crimes.
Dr Titus Sankaramangalam, Eraviperoor
Castration “fails to treat the social foundations of rape” according to the Justice J S Verma Committee, which was set up to revamp the criminal laws in the country after the Delhi gangrape. Whether it is surgical or chemical castration, the procedure can create bioethical problems for the doctors. The benefits for reducing sex offences are unclear according to the British Medical Journal also. In any case, this rapist without bullets or gunpowder, if left free, can easily load himself with the male sex hormone testosterone as either tablets or injections and still fire the gun. So, what is the point in castration?
Dr George Jacob, Kochi
Child abuse is always a premeditated, well-planned crime committed against a vulnerable person, by someone who always has the wherewithal to turn away from it. The crime, unnatural even among the animals, leaves a lasting scar on the victim, who sometimes turns into a social, emotional and mental wreck. This makes the crime one of the most serious. On these two scores, the crime deserves the severest of punishment, like the one pronounced by Justice N Kirubakaran. In fact, the crime deserves emasculation, and not just castration. The severity of the punishment must be congruent with the gravity of the crime. This serves two purposes. Firstly, the chance of the offender repeating the crime is annulled. Secondly, this definitely will serve as a strong deterrent for such crimes, restoring some degree of civility to society. Uncivil society calls for ‘uncivil methods’ to impose rule of law.
Thomas Varghese
Maruthimoottil,Mannamaruthi
Justice N Kirubakaran’s observation on child abusers will yield fruitful result if implemented by enacting stringent law. Some intellectuals may define the word castration as barbaric and dismembering the human body. Child rape itself is a barbaric crime and a curse to civilised society. Hence, the culprit deserves severest punishment. If society cannot reconcile to the word ‘castration,’ the proprietor of the crime may be made impotent through medication. A few years of imprisonment cannot stop the inherent addiction of the criminal. Rigorous and foolproof enforcement of law is the need of the hour. Since child rape is a curse to humanity, society as a whole should stand aside the government to annihilate the menace from our country.
Dr N Harimohan, Brunei Darussalam
Harsher punishments for heinous crimes like child sex abuse are a must. Don’t we accept death sentences in the rarest of rare cases? Castration can be by physical removal of testicles or chemical castration by anti-androgen. Sex drive is removed and also a moral blow to the offender is given. Considering the extent of damage caused to the child victim and family, it is justifiable even in civilised nations. Even in certain advanced countries, castration for child abusers is being instituted these days. The expected outrage by human rights activists who always support the criminals more than the victims to slot the child abusers as having a helpless psychological condition is absurd, If we need a society free of these monsters we need to bring about castration.
Dr Praveen Sakalya, Kazhakuttom
Kerala is witnessing an alarming rise in the number of child sex abuse cases. History exposes the statistics that several people prima facie accused as guilty have eloped through the loopholes of judicial system, power and politics. At this juncture I support the strongly worded recommendation of Madras High Court to give castration as a punishment or as a preventing mechanism to reduce these kind of barbaric crimes. The fear of this punishment will reduce the number of monstrous crimes. I take this platform to pooh-pooh the so-called publicity oriented ‘pseudo human activists’ who expressed their voice of dissidence against this statement. With an eye towards the future, a non-profit organisation in the form of a prevention council should be installed in the state incorporating scientists, clinicians, educators, legal scholars, journalists, social workers and public policy analysts to prevent such atrocities.
Gajanan Kamath, email
At the outset, let me congratulate Justice N Kirubakaran for being bold enough to call a spade a spade because these days rarely do we get to hear from sane voices like these. I personally feel that child abusers should be castrated as living in a civilised society means behaving like human beings. When humans stoop to the level of animals, the punishment meted out must also be inhuman. Child abuse will traumatise the child for life, physically and mentally, hence castration is a very good choice, so that the incorrigible person cannot repeat himself on anybody. Also it will deter any future criminals from abusing a young mind. We have sufficient laws, the need of the hour is proper implementation of the laws without allowing any wily defending lawyer to misinterpret any clause in the law to their advantage.
Remi Ann, email
Man is the crown of God’s creation and often a crown of thorns for God. However, crime and punishment is a worldly matter and they are dealt with laws. Punishment for crimes should be in accordance with the nature and seriousness of the offence. It should be a deterrent to all criminals. Barbaric and brutal atrocities towards women, children and infants deserve a punishment that will have a lasting effect on savage minds so that they will never repeat it. Castration is a barbaric punishment fit for barbarians. The government should make sure that every child; the future of a nation gets good parenting; the lack of which is the root cause of all the bad in this world. Taking into account the prevailing punishment and the repetition of the same savagery, an effective measure should be adopted to eradicate such brutalities.
ATHULYA JOSE
Kanjirappally
I think, Justice N Kirubakaran has really satisfied the victims of child abuse to some extent. I too realised sincerely that my childhood was a blessing as compared to today’s. If a 10-month-old baby can’t survive this brutal crime then how can you expect that each of us, whether be a man or woman, can escape from criminal’s eyes. I feel, castration is the best punishment at least to reduce the sexual harassment on innocent children. I salute Justice N Kirubakaran who uniquely brought out this new, effective and powerful innovation in criminal laws. Really, if a criminal or a rapist doesn’t feel the pain he or she inflicts upon the innocent children, he or she must receive the same pain through castration.
Hari Narayan
Kozhikode
The root cause of these acts is due to sexual frustration in our society. A point in case is the recent row over boys and girls sharing a bench in class! We consider ourselves to be very broad minded, but frown upon our children - daughters in particular, fraternizing with their peers of the opposite sex over something harmless like having cup of coffee in a restaurant! Girls in particular, going through changes in puberty, in most households are very embarrassed to confide in their parents. Sex is a taboo subject in the household which cannot be openly discussed. It is acceptable for a boy of 15 to be out till late at night, but the same cannot be tolerated from his sister. Sex education is the need of the hour, starting from at least class 10 onwards so that the youth have a healthy awareness on the subject
C Divakaran, Kowdiar
What is intriguing is that despite his openly admitted conviction about the barbarity of castration as a punishment for child abuse, the Judge recommends it. The proposal is a throw-back to the days when the philosophy of punishment was “an eye for an eye; a tooth for a tooth.” The adoption by certain other countries of the savage mode of tackling an indisputably heinous crime is not a sufficiently potent justification for its transplantation into India, whose hoary heritage is predicated upon noble ideals. The factors in support of abolition of capital punishment would with equal force apply to castration also. The nature and variety of crimes in the country have varied vastly since the day Macaulay listed them comprehensively in his Penal Code of 1860. Extensive and intensive research in penology embracing different allied fields is absolutely essential before coming out with remedies which are worse than the maladies they seek to cure.
K A Solaman, SL Puram
It is true that sex abuse has no place in a civilised society. As a way to check this crime, castration of the abusers is one of the many options. If testosterone levels and consequently men’s libidos are the reasons for the psychological unevenness of abusers it can be lowered through surgically removing a man’s testicles or treating him with drugs. Nevertheless castration - physical or chemical - does not guarantee that a man will forever be sexually dysfunctional or that he won’t again commit rape. Castration - chemical or surgical - is not a good way of responding to sexual behaviour and for that reason one cannot fully agree with Justice N Kirubakaran. What is actually needed is medical treatment of personality disorder that leads to rape and sexual abuse. Lack of education in some sections of society is also a reason for sex-related crimes.
Bipin M P, email
Castration is the most appropriate punishment for child abuse. Present laws are insufficient. The culprits always escape with minor punishments. Under-18 are more lucky to be tried under Juvenile Act. This soft approach creates more criminals. Castration helps in two ways. As a deterrent. Castration is not like a prison term which is quite common and people also take it lightly. But living in society after being castrated is entirely different. Shame and the social impact afterwards will scare away. The second is the biological implication. He will never have the sexual desire or ability as before, which makes him less dangerous to society.
Pious Alummoottil
Udayamperoor
There are various types of punishments prevailing in many countries of the world. These punishment structures are established depending upon the character of the individual and also on the social standards of the nation. Now the observation of Justice N Kirubakaran of Madurai Bench of Madras High Court that castration to be inflicted to child abusers has created lots of discussion at various levels of society. This is a good signal to think the seriousness of child abusing. Even in developed countries like Russia, 9 states of US, Poland etc. have still practising castration, which pinpoints the importance of safeguarding the life of our innocent child.
Reshmi Mary George, email
Every child, whether a boy or a girl is an asset to the nation. Whoever abuses a child has to be castrated irrespective of their age or status. Nowadays, there is an alarming rise in the number of child abuse cases and hence such laws should be implemented to put an end to those evil practices. As a society, we have to think about the victims of such cases and how it affects their psychological development. Simply sympathising with them is of no use; instead we have to step into their shoes. Then only one can say “child abusers have to be castrated.” I am proud of Justice N Kirubakaran and appreciate his boldness and hope that other authorities and people will also support this brave and valuable observation and execute it at the earliest.
Keerthi G, email
Child sexual abuses are dark realities in Indian society like in any other nation. World over, rape has been considered most abominable and most developed societies provide for a stringent punishment for the same considering it as a grave offence but punishment in most of the countries is imprisonment. In a recent case, a trial court opined that “in my view it is time that we as a civil society stand up and also think of a law similar to the one existing in many developed countries providing for surgical and chemical castration. The court went on adding that ‘’my conscious, however, tells me that this is a crime which is required to be addressed differently and a full public debate with regard to imposition of castration as an alternative punishment for the offence of rape and molestation is the crying need of the hour.