NCW against death term in rape case

By Our Staff Reporter

NEW DELHI, APRIL 3. Despite its concern over the increasing incidence of rape, the National Commission for Women (NCW) has not recommended death penalty for rapists in its legal study that was released here today.

Giving details of the study at a press conference here, the NCW chairperson, Ms. Vibha Parthasarathi, said a majority of the States involved in the preparation of ``Rape: A Legal Study'' were against introducing the death penalty. Though most States were in favour of enhancing the penalty to life imprisonment, as many as 10 of the 16 States were against the death penalty.

Four States, according to Dr. Poornima Advani, NCW member entrusted with drawing up the report, were of the view that the death sentence could be awarded in exceptional circumstances such as child-rape and gang-rape. Among the most debated issues during the year-long exercise to prepare the report, a reason that fashioned the opinion against the death penalty was the extremely low rate of conviction in rape cases.

``Only four per cent of the cases get convicted today. The general apprehension is that an irrevocable punishment like the death penalty will further bring down the rate of conviction. Also, the death penalty could enhance the risk of the rapist killing the victim to eliminate evidence,'' said Dr. Advani.

Another hotly-debated issue pertained to the deletion of the marital rape exception clause figuring in Section 375 of the Indian Penal Code. The general opinion that emerged was in favour of deletion of the clause as the Constitution guaranteed equality to all and thereby made woman an equal partner in a marriage.

The NCW report also recommended widening the definition of rape to cover other forms of sexual assault. Also, the NCW called for the deletion of Clause 4 of Section 155 of the Evidence Act which dealt with the previous sexual history of the victim. Citing the Right to Equality enshrined in the Constitution, Dr. Advani said every woman - even that of ``easy virtue'' - was entitled to protection under the law.

Another hotly-debated issue involved cases where the rapist knowingly transmitted HIV-AIDS virus to the victim. While some were of the view that enhancing punishment of a rapist with HIV- AIDS would amount to ``double jeopardy'' as he was already condemned to a life with the deadly virus, others were not so charitable and finally it was the latter opinion that found greater acceptability.

Other recommendations included uniformly raising the age of consent in rape law to 18; reduction of procedural delay; inclusion of a statutory provision to provide compensation to the victim, besides counselling and legal aid for the victim.

Asked whether this report would meet the same fate as that of its predecessors - most of which were gathering dust in various government departments - Dr. Advani said she was hopeful now because the Union Home Ministry was seriously considering an amendment to the rape law. Also, according to her, this report carried weight as it was not just one prepared by experts, but a study that capsuled the voice of the people.

Ban on `Talaq' sought

PTI reports:

The commission has demanded codification of Muslim personal laws, including instantaneous banning of verbal triple `Talaq' (divorce), in a bid to ameliorate the condition of Muslim women in the country.

Releasing a report on `Status of Muslim women in India', the commission, however, said it was not in favour of uniform civil code as ``it will be too much too expect from conventional Muslim leaders to agree to it''.

``We want codification of Muslim personal laws as the major problems of Muslim women stem from the nature of their customary laws,'' the NCW member, Ms. Sayeda Hameed, who wrote the report, told presspersons. Ms. Hameed also emphasised the need for strict implementation of the schemes framed by the Government for 60 million minority women in the country.

``There is no dearth of schemes for these women e.g., Prime minister's 15-point programme, but the problem is because of lack of awareness and education among the lot, they don't get the benefits,'' she said.

Describing Muslim women as ``weakest link in the generally disempowered chain of Indian Womanhood'', the report was an attempt to provide a comprehensive view of the status of minority women based on public hearing and collection of statistical data from different parts of the country.

``To bring Muslim women at par with other women has been the long-felt need of the commission and in 1997 the NCW declared minority women as a thrust area of its work,'' Ms. Hameed said. An expert committee was appointed under section 8(1) of the NCW Act which advised public hearings to be conducted by the different ngos in several States to assess the real picture regarding the status of the Muslim women in the country.

The report also recommends standard Nikahnama, compulsory registration of marriages and creating awareness among the State, civil society, and Muslim leadership regarding the quantum of the problem.

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