The Cabinet has yet again deferred the anti-rape ordinance due to lack of unanimity. A group of ministers along with lawyers will now look into the points of differences and will come back to the Cabinet.
Sources say the Bill will be taken up in Parliament despite differences. Sources say the government wants to ensure that Bill stands legal scrutiny.
Consensus has eluded the government specifically on clauses relating to the use of the term 'rape', voyeurism, and reducing the age of consent from 18 to 16 years. The Women and Child Welfare Minister Krishna Tirath has objected to the age of consent being reduced from 18 to 16 years. She is also opposed to the term 'sexual assault' being replaced by 'rape'.
Law Minister Ashwani Kumar feels voyeurism and stalking could be used for false complaints. Meanwhile, according to Telecom Minister Kapil Sibal, the Bill is 'too loose' and could be caught in legal hassles. The clock is ticking and if the ordinance that was passed isn't converted into law by April 14 before the end of the Budget Session of Parliament, it will lapse.
The Bharatiya Janata Party said the government must sort out differences soon. "The whole country is waiting for a law to come. We are not concerned with the battle between two ministries," BJP leader Rajiv Pratap Rudy said.
The Criminal Law Amendment Bill for tough anti-rape laws was not discussed by the Cabinet last week after some amendments proposed by the Home Ministry ran into opposition. CNN-IBN learnt that the Law Ministry had sent some recommendations and had reservations about replacing the word sexual harassment with rape saying that this limits it to just women-related crimes.
The Law Ministry has also proposed that a victim of rape should not be denied treatment by any nearby private hospital after informing police and the victim should not be made to suffer further by being referred to a government hospital.
The fresh Bill will replace the ordinance on crimes against women promulgated last month. The proposal will replace the provision in the ordinance which has subscribed life imprisonment as the maximum punishment for those in authority committing rape. The person in authority has been described as a police officer, a doctor or a staffer of a hospital, a jailer or a warden of a remand home.
The fresh bill, which will also replace the Criminal Law (Amendment) Bill, 2012 introduced in the Lok Sabha in December last. The bill retains the provision that if rape leads to death of the victim or leaves her in a vegetative state, it can attract death penalty.
The proposed bill is incorporating most of the clauses which are part of the Criminal Law (Amendment) Ordinance 2013 promulgated on February 3 following the recommendations of the Justice JS Verma Commission, constituted in the wake of December 16 gangrape in Delhi. The shield given to the security personnel involved in crime against women in disturbed areas under the controversial AFSPA continue to remain, sources said. It also proposes enhanced punishment for other crimes against women like stalking, voyeurism, acid attacks, indecent gestures like words and inappropriate touch.
And Another Sources Say as,
The Union Cabinet on Tuesday deferred its decision on the anti-rape bill due to lack of unanimity over key issues including the contentious age of consent.
According to CNN-IBN, the cabinet could not arrive at a consensus over key issues such as voyeurism, stalking and age of consent among others as they want to ensure that the bill stands legal
Law Minister Ashwani Kumar. Reuters
Kumar said that the bill will be brought before Parliament by 22 March.
Reacting to the cabinet meeting development, BJP leader Rajiv Pratap Rudy said the country wants an anti-rape law and is not interested about government infighting.
“ The nation wants an anti-rape law. No one is interested in the government’s internal fighting.”
The law, which was expected to be taken up at a special cabinet meeting last week, was not brought for discussion leading to reports that differences of opinion over the draft Criminal Law (Amendment) Bill – seeking to reintroduce the word ‘rape’ instead of ‘sexual assault’ in the anti-rape law and lower the age of consensual sex from 18 to 16 – had forced the government to defer it.
Reports added that there were serious differences between the Law Ministry and the Home Ministry over the contents of the anti-rape bill.
When asked why it wasn’t put before the Cabinet on Thursday, Kumar said that the Home Ministry was trying to make up its mind on what the law ministry had sent them.
“They were looking at what we had sent them. It was time for the Home Ministry itself to make up its mind, to bring it before the Cabinet. It will come, I am given to understand early next week,” he said.
The minister also said that there could be differences of opinion in the criminal law amendment ordinance, but there weren’t any fundamental objections.
On Friday, Finance Minister P Chidambaram, also underplayed reported differences in the government over certain provisions in the anti-rape law.
“The Law Ministry has given its views. The Ministry of Home Affairs is putting together the Bill. It will come to the Cabinet. May be there will be a special Cabinet meeting early. There are no differences in the government,” he said.
“Please appreciate that we are making a new law to ensure the protection, dignity, security and safety of our women. It must receive the fullest and the most thoughtful consideration of everyone,” Kumar said.
“We are trying to ensure that we give to the people of India a law that would be credible, which would be purposive, which would be efficient and efficacious, and stand the scrutiny of courts and the test of times,” he added.
The ordinance, which was promulgated by President Pranab Mukherjee on February 3, has to be approved by Parliament within six weeks from the date of its promulgation. The first half of the ongoing budget session ends March 22 and the house will reconvene only on April 22.
The ordinance proposes death in rarest of rare cases of rape and for repeat offenders while keeping marital rape out of its ambit.
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