RAPE LAWS: SHIELD OR SWORD

Himanshu Gupta,

CPJ college of higher studies and school of law

INTRODUCTION

Rape is one of the most heinous Crime in the history of mankind. Rape generally can be defined as a type of sexual assault involving sexual intercourse carried out against a person without their consent. Consent is the major factor that draws a thin line of difference between sex and rape.

Rape has always been prevalent in society since ancient times. Historically, during world wars it was used as a weapon to humiliate the enemy. Rape earlier was defined narrowly and was considered as a forceful act done by men against women.

Victims of rape not only have to suffer physical injuries but they also have to go through mental health problems and depression. Raping someone is not just physical but is more of like killing the inner soul of the victim. They lose their self-esteem and find it difficult to blend in the society due to societal taboo. This experience can give them life time trauma that’s why we see suicidal behaviour in rape victims.

SHIELD OR SWORD?

With the laws becoming more and more strict with the passage of time to safeguard the interest of women there are increasing cases of false rape cases also. Laws were designed as such that they work as a shield to protect them and punish the criminal but instead these laws are currently being misused by women as a sword to fabricate innocent man into these cases. This not only degrades their reputation in society but also affects their mental health. It is also being used as a sword to blackmail the male and extort money from him.

In State of UP v. Nisha (2018), The court found that Nisha filed a false rape case against the accused and the accused spent 4years and 6 months in jail. The court held Nisha to be guilty under section 195 of Indian penal code and sentenced her to 4 years, 6 months, and 8 days in jail. She was also fined Rs. 5,88,822/-.

SAME SEX RAPE

The traditional definition of rape was narrow with respect to both gender and rape. It was considered as a sexual act done by a man with a woman against her will. With the passage of time and continuous alternations in the law through precedents rape is now understood, a rapist or a victim both can be of either gender or age.

With the increase of homosexuality, there can be seen increasing cases of same-sex rape too. This type of cases is not even reported often as being homosexual is a taboo itself in our society and the fear of social degradation and lack of family support victims are afraid to call out the accused. Victims are harassed at every step, from society to courtrooms.

MALE RAPE: A SILENT WAR

Rape in general is defined as the crime committed by men against women. In ancient and modern time female sexual exploitation has always been a prevalent social issue. It gained all attention and men as a victim is still lacking. As there are stereotypes actively prevailing in the society that man always wants sex and is not vulnerable. It always existed as a rumour and needs to be addressed as males can be victim too.

It is a silent war as the male rape cases are not reported due to societal taboo. It is believed that man have a dominant position in the society and is always depicted that males cannot be raped as society supposes men to be tough. Our society still thinks that only females can be raped and males are not even vulnerable to it. If any male rape victim shares about the incident to anyone even in their family there are more chance they will just dismiss his claim. In law also there are no provisions that protects and safeguards the interest of males.

LAWS RELATED TO RAPE IN INDIA

Anti rape laws are prevailing in india since a long time and also strengthened over time. Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS), 2013 provides for provisions relating to rape from section 63-70. Some are:-

· SECTION 63: This section defines the term ‘RAPE’ and tell about the conditions under which an act will be considered as rape.

· SECTION 64: This section provides punishment for rape i.e rigorous imprisonment of either description for a term which shall not be less than 10 years, but which may extend to imprisonment for life and shall also be liable to fine.

CASE LAWS RELATING TO RAPE

· THE NIRBHAYA RAPE CASE, 2012

In 2012, a monstrous case too the wind that shook the whole country. A young woman named Nirbhaya (to hide her real identity) was brutally gang raped by six men in a moving bus. Her internal organs were pulled out through her vagina in a very inhuman manner and later thrown out of the moving bus which caused grave injuries to her ultimately leading to loss of life.

In its final verdict supreme court found out six Rapist to be guilty and four of the Rapist were hanged to death, one of them committed suicide in judicial custody and the other was a juvenile and was sentenced to 3 years of imprisonment. The massive public and media outrage on Nirbhaya case led the government to take strict steps and a committee was setup to bring reforms to current provisions.

· TUKARAM AND ORS. V. STATE OF MAHARASTHTRA, 1972

This case is also recognised as Mathura rape case where a teenage Adivasi girl was raped while in police custody by two policemen. The main outrage started after the verdict of supreme court which overruled the judgement of high court and acquitted police on the grounds that ‘there are no marks of injury on the girl’ and the ‘girl has raised no alarm’ which indicates that act was a ‘peaceful affair’.

After this verdict there was a massive media and public protests relating to this verdict as people were not happy with the decision of supreme court. Although Mathura failed to get justice but this case played a major role in shaping the future prospectives.

CONCLUSION

Over the years there has been a significant increase in the number of reported rape cases but police still find it difficult to investigate this type of cases due to lack od co-operation from victim and accused.

Society needs to break the traditional taboos prevailing in the society and treat the victims equally. Also, there is an urgent need to bring light towards the topic of ‘Male Rape’. There is no. of cases that are not reported because of the fear of being humiliated by the society. The society we live in plays a major role in becoming a barrier in obtaining justice

REFERENCES

· An extreme study of rape laws in india: https://articles.manupatra.com/article-details/An-Extensive-study-of-Rape-Laws-in-India

· Punishment for rape under the BNS, 2023: https://www.freelaw.in/legalarticles/Punishment-for-Rape-under-the-Bharatiya-Nyaya-Sanhita-2023-

· Critical analysis of rape of male in india: https://blog.ipleaders.in/critical-analysis-of-rape-of-male-in-india/

· Court sentences women to 4.6 years in prison for false testimony and rape accusations: https://lawbeat.in/top-stories/court-sentences-woman-4-years-prison-false-testimony-and-rape-accusations

· Rape: https://www.britannica.com/topic/rape-crime