The recommendations made by the Verma committee on punishment are worthy of debate even if these issues carry a strong emotional quotient
The recommendations of the three-member Justice J.S. Verma committee, which looked at possible changes in the law after the Delhi gangrape case of December 16, remind us that we have amid us people who can lead the discourse in a spirit of enlightenment woven into the contemporary context.
This is a solace as Indian society, struggling with itself to take the next big leap, is wound around many ideas of the past that are iniquitous, obscurantist, and weighted against women.
The Verma committee finished its job in one month though it could take two. Releasing the report on Wednesday, the former Chief Justice of India hoped the government would take its recommendations to Parliament in the Budget Session that will commence shortly. This is a challenge the government must accept with a sense of urgency so that sexual offences against women across India can be speedily curbed. For the society to advance in a civilised way, this is needed for its own sake, especially since many more women in the country today are part of the workforce outside their homes.
The distinguished committee makes a few key conceptual points. One, that the offence of rape against a woman must not be made gender-neutral (which change in nomenclature of the law was recently proposed) by treating it as just one among several sexual crimes, as this dilutes the horror of rape. Two, marital rape is also rape. Three, uniformed forces (operating in AFSPA conditions or otherwise), when charged with rape (seen quite commonly), must be dealt with under civil law without waiting for government sanction, and their commanding officers be held accountable. Four, the incidence of rape (and other serious offences) may dip if governance is sensitive and efficient, not indifferent and callous, in relation to vulnerable sections of society. This ties up with the worrying reality that most heads of state police forces and many state governments simply ignored the Verma committee which invited insights and suggestions, although the committee was set up by the Indian government following a veritable public storm.
The recommendations made by the committee on punishment — such as not handing the death sentence for rape or not lowering the age for the juvenile category — are worthy of debate even if these issues carry a strong emotional quotient. At any rate, Justice Verma rightly invites us to move quickly on these questions of national importance.
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