SEMINAR AND DISCUSSION SOCIETY
SEMINAR AND DISCUSSION SOCIETY
CAMPUS LAW CENTRE
Synopsis
By
Aakash Sharma
An assessment of Criminal Laws
(Amendment) Bill, 2012
The Criminal Laws
(Amendment) Bill, 2012 was introduced in the Lok Sabha on December 4, 2012 by
the Minister of Home Affairs, Mr. Sushil Kumar Shinde. The Bill seeks to amend
the Indian Penal Code, 1860 (IPC) altering S. 375 and S. 376, the Code of
Criminal Procedures, 1973 (CrPC) – S. 154 and S. 273, and the Evidence Act,
1872 – S. 53A and S.114A.
The Bill is at the
centre of the controversy in the context of the Delhi gang rape. That incident
has elicited a public outcry of tremendous proportions against ineffective laws
which have failed to tackle a rising menace of prejudiced crimes against women.
The public seeks accountability from the entire machinery that is involved in
getting justice to hapless victims. The Government has appointed Justice Verma
Committee to suggest the changes in laws that can nip the problem in the bud at
the time when the Criminal Law (Amendment) Bill 2012 is itself pending in
parliament. The legislature is facing unprecedented criticism from the public
in the wake of its persistent incapacity in amending archaic laws which have
been incapable of stirring fear amongst wanton criminals. The current laws
don’t expressly criminalise instances of digital rape. Currently, judicial
discretion granted to the courts u/s 376 operates to imparting lower sentences
to the rape perpetrators for special reasons to be recorded by the judge. The
rape laws do not entertain degrees of sex assault and currently only punish
penile intercourse u/s 375. The per vagina test is currently employed to
denigrate women in hospitals by Doctors when it has no evidentiary value in the
context of rape. The presentation seeks to examine and discuss the amendments
in the bill and the other problems currently faced by women seeking justice
from the Criminal Justice Establishment of the Country.
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