The Nirbhaya gangrape and murder case of 16 December 2012 was once again remembered in the Supreme Court after 12 years. The Supreme Court Women Lawyers Association (SCWLA), an organization of women lawyers, demanded the court to make guidelines on women’s safety for the entire country and to improve the laws. Accepting the petition for consideration, the Supreme Court issued notices to various ministries of the Central Government.
The demands put forward by SCWLA in the Supreme Court include installation of CCTV cameras in public buildings and places, ban on pornographic material and castration (disabling the reproductive organs) of rape convicts. Issuing a notice on the matter, the bench of Justices Surya Kant and Ujjwal Bhuyan said that some of these demands seem cruel. On this, SCWLA president and senior lawyer Mahalakshmi Pavani said that if the court wants, the court can leave aside those demands and consider the rest.
Pavani started his arguments by saying that nothing has changed from Nirbhaya to Abhaya (the victim of RG Kar rape and murder case of Kolkata). Women are becoming victims of rape from street to home. Some crimes committed in big cities still come into discussion, but crimes committed in small places are hidden under the carpet. The pain caused to women by this attitude of law enforcement officers and society is huge.
Senior lawyer said that there are many laws. After the Nirbhaya case, they were made even more strict. But the question is to implement them. The court should consider further improving the laws and setting guidelines for stronger implementation of women’s safety system. The judges appreciated the petitioner for raising the voice of women who are feeling insecure in their daily lives. He said that he will consider what can be done in this matter at the Supreme Court level. The flaws in the system will be noted and efforts will be made to remove them.
Keep in mind that the Supreme Court has already issued guidelines in many cases regarding women’s safety. Recently, a bench headed by Justice BV Nagarathna had given several instructions, including forming internal complaint committees under the POSH (Prevention of Sexual Harassment) Act in all government offices. A total of 20 demands have been made in this new petition of SCWLA. There are also demands like appointing security guards only after verification, training people associated with transport sector including Ola-Uber on women safety, stopping obscene content on OTT. Commenting on the demand for ban on online pornography, the court said that it is a policy subject under the jurisdiction of the government.
