Rape Laws in India

Rape is one of the most abominable crimes that can neither be forgiven nor forgotten by humankind, every time it is committed upon the woman. It forms a most gruesome form of violation of the person of a woman, her intrinsic and fundamental rights of life, liberty and dignity standing thereby infringed. Section 375 of the Indian Penal Code defines rape as:
“A man is said to commit rape who, except in the case, hereinafter excepted, has sexual intercourse with a woman under circumstances falling under any of the six following descriptions:
First –Against her will
Secondly –without her consent
Thirdly –with her consent, when her consent has been obtained by putting her or any person in whom she is interested in fear of death or hurt
Fourthly-with her consent, when the man knows that he is not her husband, and that her consent is given because she believes that he is another man to whom she is or believes herself to be lawfully married
Fifthly-with her consent when at the time of giving such consent, by reason of unsoundness of mind or intoxication, or the administration by him personally or through another of any stupefying or unwholesome substance, she is unable to understand the nature and consequences of that to which she gives consent.
Sixthly: with or without consent, when she is under sixteen years of age
It also states that ‘penetration’ (penetration of slightest degree i.e. Entrance of the penis in the labia or vulva with or without the ejection of semen)
Marital rape is not regarded as ‘rape’ under the section if the wife is not less than 15 years of age.
When a woman is raped her person is recklessly played with and her most fundamental rights and prized possession of human dignity stand abraded, as she becomes the target of some perverted lust of perverted psychology of the offender. Though the law provides for punishment for the same under section 376 of the Penal Code, (even though at the same time, its adequacy and efficacy has been debated), many rape victims hesitate lodging their FIRs at the police station. A deathless shame haunts the raped woman. The reason for this prevalent hesitant behavior in the woman somewhere lies in the agonizing treatment they are subject to at rape trials. The Supreme Court in Delhi Domestic Working Women’s Forum versus Union of India and others, recognising the rights of the raped woman, laid down the parameters within which rape trials are to be taken place. It can be mostly summed up under the following three heads:
1. Right to representation
2. Right to counseling
3. Right to compensation
The raped woman has to come out of the passive connotation of the ‘victim’ image and needs to deal with the situation with an iron heart and hand. The most important job for her and her confidantes when faced with such a violation is to maintain their cool and then approach for the foremost legal step of filing and FIR in the nearby police station and then following the medical requirements accordingly. This is not just a crime against the woman, but the human kind as a whole. A transparent and quick investigation of the crime, a cooperative and mentally strong victim, a sensitized judiciary and most importantly a sensible society need to work hand in hand to drive out this menacing evil altogether.

Shatarupa Choudhury
Member, SACJ, 2007-08