nirbhaya case
Mukesh & Another vs State For Nct Of Delhi and Others on 5 May, 2017
Introduction
nirbhaya case is created in the history of a black mark in constitutional right of freedom of freely enjoying at night. it was a cold night, when a girl(Nirbhaya) was coming with her friends in bus on 12th december 2012. where she was brutally gang raped and assaulted for sadistic pleasure.
she was died in singapore where she had been transferred for special treatment.
later on the six accused, one of them Ram singh who is driver of the bus was commit suicide in between the trails in jail. and one person who is not adult had undergone in juvenile custody for 3 years. and rest of the accused are held to be guilty and convicted death penalty for the rape and murder.
nirbhaya case delhi. Mukesh & Anr vs State For Nct Of Delhi and Ors on 5 May, 2017
facts of the Nirbhaya case
Nirbhaya case is not only a case it is established the inhumanity that possible on earth. Nirbhaya(pseudonym) is coming from a movie theatre and waiting for the bus. one of the culprits convinced to them to come on the bus. later on, nirbhaya was assaulted by them. her friend when tried to protect was beaten so badly.
nirbhaya not only brutally raped but also violated beyond human imagination. Her intestine was pulled out and her private parts multilated. She later died in singapore due to multiple private organs failures during her treatment. the whole country was stand against the government with tears in eyes for the pain of nirbhaya case.
RAPE-
the word rape is introduced from latin word “rapio” which means to ‘seize‘. this is defined in section 375 in indian penal code 1860.
a man is committed rape in the following circumstances:-
- If a person penetrates his penis into the vagina, mouth, urethra or anus of any woman or he makes her do so with him or with any other person.
- If person inserts anything or any body part other than the penis, into the vagina, urethra or anus of a woman or if he makes her do so with him or with any other person.
- If person manipulates any body part of a woman/girl so as to do such penetration into the vagina, urethra, anus or any part of the body of the woman or he makes her do so with him or some other person.
- If he applies his mouth to the vagina, anus, urethra of a woman or he makes her do so with him or some other person, under the given seven descriptions:
-
- When it is against women will.
- It is done without her consent.
- It is done with her consent, but such consent has been obtained by putting her or any person in whom she is interested or whom she is concerned about, in fear of death or of hurt or anything else.
- With her consent, when the man knows that he is not her husband and that her consent is given because she believes that he is her husband to whom she is lawfully married.
- With her consent when she wasn’t of sound mind or in an intoxicated state or the administration of any harmful substance by the person who commits rape or through another due to which she is unable to understand the character or consequences of the act to which she provides her consent.
- With or without her consent, when she has not attained majority or is under eighteen years of age.
- When she is not in a condition to communicate her consent for the act.
- Note – medical procedure shall not treated as sexual intercourse.
- sexual intercourse with his wife who is under 15 years old will treated as rape.
- the consentual sex means any kind of hint by woman to sexual intercourse by consent agreement verbal, some specific gestures, body language; provided that woman does not resist the act of penetration is also regarded for sexual intercourse.
Effect of Rape after incident of nirbhaya case :-
once rape is committed with a woman then her life is completely changed. its effect can include both as the physical trauma as well as psychological stress. lots of women suffer from health issues and reproductive problems after this hilarious incident. it is the most heinous curse for a woman if she gets raped.
most of the women hesitate to complain about what it happen because of our judgmental society and this is major problem that increasing the number of rapes in India. they fears that he will be blamed and treated biased in society. it ruins the her life and makes restless for the whole life.
Rape is the most heinous problem and victims suffer from physical, mental and emotional consequences and various other traumas.
Legal perspective introduced in nirbhaya case
in the case Parhlad and Ors v State of Haryana, the cpurt held that the offence of rape is basically assault of human rights of the victim. it is important to note down that u/s 375 ipc, a man can commit rape and only on a woman.
before 2012, the definition of rape was restricted to sexual intercourse. The Criminal Law (Amendment) Act, 2013 gave a wider meaning to the term rape. It amended the definition u/s-375 of the IPC. Section 375 of the IPC, after the amendment, defines rape as any involuntary and forceful penetration without consent of women into the woman’s body parts like the vagina, urethra, mouth or anus.
suggesting reading – https://blog.ipleaders.in/human-castration-rape-punishment/
justice verma committee report after nirbhaya case
the committee was set up to quicker respond and fast trial to the punishment like rape offence cases after the Nirbhaya case to stop number of rapes. some of the progressive changes are suggested listed following-
- committee responded that rape and sexual assault don’t seem to be simply crimes of passion however it is an expression of power. Rape should be regarded as a separate offence and it ought not to be limited only to the penetration of the vagina, mouth or anus and its scope should be widened. Any other non-consensual penetration whose nature is sexual must be included in the definition of rape given under various laws.
- It suggested that marriage should not be considered as a licence to perform sexual offences.
- It counseled that non-penetrative forms of sexual contact should be treated as sexual assault. The offence of sexual assault to be outlined so as to combine all forms of non-consensual or non-penetrative touching of sexual nature.
- The use of words or such act or any form of gesture that creates a threat of sexual nature ought to be termed as sexual assault and be punishable for the same.
- There are some keys recommendations made by the Committee on the Sexual Harassment of Women at Workplace (Prevention, Prohibition and Redressal) Bill, 2012 which were:
- Domestic workers must be included within the purview of the Bill.
- The complainant and the respondent should first attempt to conciliation that makes it easy for both of them to settle the issue.
- The employer should pay compensation to the woman who has suffered from sexual harassment at the workplace in any form.
- The employer should institute an internal complaints committee to which complaints should be filed and heard.
- It opined that Acid attack should not be clubbed with the provisions of grievous hurt and recommended that the central and state government should take some steps to compensate victims of sexual assault.
- It recommended that the requirement of sanction for prosecution of armed forces personnel should be specifically excluded when a sexual offence is alleged. Special commissioners should be appointed in the conflict areas to monitor and prosecute for sexual offences against women.
- The provisions of the IPC on slavery should be amended to criminalize trafficking.
- The terms ‘harm’ and ‘health’ should be defined under the Juvenile Justice Act, 2000 to include mental and physical harm and health of juveniles.
- It was of the view that the death penalty should not be awarded for the offence of rape. It recommended life imprisonment for rape instead.
- The Committee has recommended the discontinuation of the two-finger test as it doesn’t make any sense because the offence of rape can be committed against her even if she is habitual to sex.
- The Committee has recommended certain steps for the reformation of the police. This includes the establishment of Security Commissions in states to ensure that the government doesn’t exercise any kind of influence on the police.
- Some suggestions for reforms in the management of cases:
- A Rape Crisis Cell should be set up for providing immediate notification of the case when an FIR in relation to sexual offences is made. The Cell should also provide legal assistance to the victims.
- All police stations should have CCTVs at the entrance and in the questioning room so that their activities can be monitored.
- A system of online F.I.R. filing should be there.
- It should be the duty of the police officers to assist victims of sexual offences irrespective of the crime’s jurisdiction and anything else.
- The police must be trained on how to deal with sexual offences appropriately and effectively.
- The number of police personnel should be increased for better assistance of the victims.
- The Committee was of the opinion that filing of charge sheet and cognizance by the Court was sufficient for disqualification of a candidate under The Representation of the People Act, 1951 . It further recommended that candidates should be disqualified if he has committed any sexual offence.
- It has recommended that sex education should be imparted to children so that they get to know if anything wrong happens to them.
nirbhaya fund
due to respond of the women of the country, finance minister introduced money funding after the nirbhaya case for the welfare of the victims who suffered the traumas after the rape offences. initial amount is allocated 1000 crores rupees, anf further go on every year in the budget so that women must access their necessities.
Nirbhaya case verdict supreme court and Decision–
A three-judge bench accepted that the act done by the accused did not deserve any sympathy.
In a strong message, that the diabolic crime had shocked the collective conscience of the society, and that the court can treat it as a rarest of rare cases where death penalty can be awarded. DNA identification, fingerprints, witness testimonies and odontology proved that the accused were there in the bus and their involvement in the crime, as said by the Supreme Court.
The Supreme Court administered justice to the family of the victim and all the women in the country by confirming the capital punishment the four convicts in the Nirbhaya gangrape and murder case, terming it as the “rarest of rare”, most brutal and barbaric attack on the 23-year-old paramedic student, Joti Singh. The convicts treated the victim as an object of enjoyment and exploited her sexually to the worst level.
A three-judge bench, through a unanimous decision, upheld the Delhi High Court judgment that had concurred with the trial court decision of the case. Mukesh (29), Pawan (22), Vinay Sharma (23) and Akshay Kumar Singh (31) were hanged till death for the brutality they had shown against a woman of the country. The bench awarded them the death sentence because their crime met ‘rarest-of-rare’ threshold. After the incident, the fifth accused was not tried and he was sent to a correction home for three years because he was a minor at that time.
Conclusion in the nirbhaya case
India is famous for a lot of things. The positive sides are its culture, diversity of religion, cricket prowess, beautiful scenic beauty. But, a few incidents took place which make these positive factors take a backseat in foreign, and even domestic public opinion. The Nirbhaya incident was that spark which ignited the fire of negative public response about India.
It was recently published in Sex Roles, a journal analysing women’s issues, gave academic backing to something we all Indians are aware of. It highlighted how “beliefs that blame women for their victimization, in turn, provide legitimacy to violence against women”.
After the Nirbhaya case, as a girl was brutally raped solely because she was out late at night, and was enjoying her contitutional rights as her freedom and her life with her male friend, our government has although taken steps to improve the conditions, but still it has not helped the women much.
the protests by women were at its peak. But in the due course of time, it lost its spark and ultimately faded away. But still, the Nirbhaya case, known to be the most horrific case of a crime against women in the history of India, has a lasting impact on the Indian populace.
thanks for reading.
Quick Revision- Contract
