Rape: Threat to Women’s Liberty

by Ritvik Kashyap

Rape is the most heinous crime which a person can commit. In India, it is one
of the most common criminal activity committed against women. It is a violent
crime that usually involves sexual intercourse which are forced on one person
by another. It is not only an assault on the woman but assault on her family as
well as the community. Rapes are generally divided into 2 categories, one
being Incest Rape (Rape which is committed by the blood relatives) and other
being rape which is committed by someone other than blood relative. The
term rape has been defined under Section 375 of Indian Penal Code, 1860.
According to this section, a man commits a rape when he has sexual
intercourse with a women in any of the following circumstances:
1. Against her will.
2. Without obtaining her consent.
3. When the consent is obtained by putting her or the person close to her
in the fear of causing hurt or death.
4. When the consent is received by her out of the belief of being married
to the man when the man knows that he is not her husband.
5. When the consent is given by a person who is of unsound mind or
intoxicated or unable to understand the nature of giving the consent.
6. With or without her consent when she is below 18 years of age.
7. When she is unable to communicate the consent.

The number of rape cases are increasing every day and most of them are
unreported. A report released by the National Crime Records Bureau (NCRB)
on 9th January, 2020 shows astonishing figures of offences pertaining to rape.
According to this report, a woman is raped every 16 minutes and 89 cases are
recorded daily on an average. There is huge gap between the number of cases
reported and the ones which results in conviction. According to the report,
85% of the cases which are reported, only 27% of them led to conviction.
Evolution of Rape laws in India
The definition of rape has undergone many changes. Initially it was defined as
an act of sexual intercourse with the women against her will or consent. It also
included consent obtained by putting the women or anyone she cares about in
the fear of death or hurt.
Tukaram vs State of Maharashtra1, commonly known as the Mathura Rape
case is one of the important case which led to reforms in the existing laws.
In this case, Mathura a sixteen-year-old girl was raped by 2 policemen within
the premises of Police Station which was situated in Chandrapur district of
Maharashtra. Family members of the girl filed a police complaint against the
two police officers.
The Sessions Court gave the judgement in the favour of the two policemen.
Mathura (victim) was accused of being liar. It was stated that she had
voluntarily given her consent.
The Bombay High Court sentenced the accused namely Tukaram and Ganpat to
one and five years of rigorous imprisonment respectively.
However, the Supreme Court overturned the Bombay High Court judgement
and released the two accused policemen. It was held that there were no visible
marks of injury on the body of victim.
This judgement led to huge protest by many women groups & various activists
throughout the country. As a result, four eminent law professors wrote a letter
to the Chief Justice of India against this judgement. After all the protests,
amendments were made in criminal laws in 1983. After Criminal Law
(Amendment) Act, 1983:
1. For the first-time custodial rape was recognized. Section 114A was inserted
in Indian Evidence Act, 1872. According to this section, if the victim girl says
that she has not given any consent to the sexual intercourse, then the Court
will presume that she didn’t give any consent.
2. Section 228A was also added in Indian Penal Code, 1860. This act punishes
any person who tries to disclose the identity of the victims of certain crimes
and rape is one of them and it also prohibits character assassination of victims.

1
AIR 1979 SC 185
Another important case that pertains to evolution of rape laws is Mukesh &
Anr. vs State for NCT of Delhi & Ors2 commonly known as the Nirbhaya case.
On 16th December, 2012, a twenty-three-year-old women, a para-medical
student, was brutally gang-raped by six men in a moving bus. Later she was
thrown out of the bus and after few days she died due to cardiac arrest,
internal bleeding and multiple organ failure. The case shook the whole country
and there were a lot of protests, candle light march asking the government to
amend the existing laws and to make more stringent laws so that such types of
crimes do not happen in the future.
Government of India formulated a committee to recommend changes. The
committee was headed by Chief Justice of India, Justice Verma. Justice Verma
committee recommended to enlarge the definition of “rape” and include non-
penetrative sex, increase the punishments of rape etc. All these
recommendations were accepted and they were included in the Indian Penal
Code, 1860 through Criminal Law (Amendment) Act, 2013.
Definition of rape was expanded and it now includes oral sex and forceful
insertion of any foreign object or any other body part into a women’s vagina,
urethra, or anus.
According to this act, police will be penalized if they fail to register FIRs. It will
become easier for the rape victims to report their complaints.
People who commit gang rape will be punished with at least 20 years of
rigorous imprisonment which can also be extended to life imprisonment along
with fine3. If rape is committed and it results in death of the victim, or if the
victim is left in a vegetative state, then the person will be punished for life
imprisonment which can be extended to death.
New crimes like Stalking4, Voyeurism5, and Acid attacks6 were added in the
Indian Penal Code, 1860.
The Supreme Court of India gave death sentence to four adults and sent the
minor to reform for 3 years.

2
(2017) 6 SCC 1
3
See Section 376D of IPC, 1860
4
See Section 354D of IPC, 1860
5
See Section 354C of IPC, 1860
6
See Section 326A & 326B of IPC,1860
Conclusion
Rape laws in India has undergone many changes. But there is a still need to
bring changes in the existing laws. The laws need to adapt to changes taking
place in the society. Homosexual rape, Marital Rape are still not considered
rape under Indian Laws. The number of cases of rape in India are increasing
everyday most of them remain unreported. One of the biggest problem in the
Indian society is that whenever a rape happens only the victim is questioned
and not the rapist. Boys in India are being raped as much as girls but no one
talks about it as there are no help centres for them. So, it is very important to
educate and create awareness about right and wrong among the society.