Will The Justice Verma Report: Change India?

Will the justice Verma report
change India?
Table of contents
A record report in record time

The key recommendations of the Justice Verma Report Verma for open trials as Delhi rape case opens behind purdah We had to offer practical solutions, set a precedent At 80 Im impatient, govt must understand impatience of youth: JS Verma Why Justice Verma Committee blames Delhi cops, public, govt Sex ed in schools: Why its time to listen to Justice Verma rather than MPs 04 06 08 10 12 13
Is the Verma report implementable?

Justice Verma panel shows the way; now comes the hard part Justice Verma extends brief, launches assault on patriarchy itself Why India doesnt need to change its rape law Verma committee returns focus on police reforms, experts divided Vermas gender Utopia: Is India ready for the challenge? No silver bullet: Vermas gender bender is Project 2030 Dear politicians, make the Justice Verma report an election issue Kiran Bedi calls for third uprising to implement Verma report Will Justice JS Verma join the junkyard of forgotten committees? 16 19 21 23 25 28 31 33 34
The gaps
Verma reports big miss: Legalising commercial sex work Verma committee report: Why did the govt ignore AFSPA? Justice Verma should have demanded more time, resources 38 40 41
The anti-rape ordinance

Not in India: Why the anti-rape ordinance is a sham Ordinance on rape: All-or-nothing approach to Verma report is self-defeating Ordinance keeps up momentum, cherry-picks from Verma report No Verma panel suggestion has been rejected: Chidambaram 44 47 50 52
Copyright 2012 Firstpost
A record report in record time
The key recommendations of
the Justice Verma Report

The Justice JS Verma committee, set up to propose amendments to laws relating to crime against women, today submitted its report to the home ministry. Here are some of the key recommendations of the panel
Danish Raza, Jan 23, 2013
he Justice JS Verma committee, set up to propose amendments to laws relating to crime against women, today submitted its report to the home ministry. Here are some of the key recommendations of the panel: MPs facing criminal charges should voluntarily vacate their seats to honour the Parliament. Observation homes for juvenile offenders should be run in a manner which is in the spirit of juvenile justice Act. Judiciary should discharge the guardianship role which the state is
supposed to discharge regarding implementation of JJ Act. Establish a new constitutional authority akin to CAG for education and non- discrimination of women and children so that there is a proper audit of laws. Increase the strength of judges without affecting the quality Implement police reforms for better autonomy and functioning of the police force.
Government must tackle trafficking of children and maintain data on the same Make sure that law enforcement agencies do not become tools at the hands of political masters Bring transparency and accountability to the functioning of all institutions of governance The ambiguity on who is responsible for the law and order issues in Delhi should be removed with an immediate effect All marriages should be registered. Magistrate should ensure that no dowry is taken Any officer who fails to report a case of rape or
delays the same should be punished The committee has framed a protocol for medical examination of rape victim. The same should be followed Sexual violence against women perpetrated by armed forces should be brought under the purview of ordinary law. There is a need to look into the continuance of AFSPA Special commissioners should be appointed to address the issues of violence against women in coflict areas such as Kashmir, Chattisgarh and Manipur.
Verma for open trials as Delhi rape case opens behind purdah
Even as the Delhi gangrape trial has begun in-camera, the Verma Committee has called for more or less open trials
R Jagannathan, Jan 25, 2013
he Justice JS Verma committee report on gender justice has said that rape trials need not be held completely in-camera.
The committee, which was set up soon after the horrific Delhi bus gangrape in which a 23-yearold physiotherapy student was brutalised, raped and thrown out of the bus along with her male friend, made this observation as part of its 631page report: The committee feels that, while to protect the testimony of the victim, the examination in chief and cross examination must be done in camera, we believe that unless there are compelling reasons, the remainder of the trial must be attempted to be conducted in open court because it is also important that womens organisations, members of the media and members of the general public should also be able to observe the conduct of the trial. In any event, the victim must have a member of the womens organisation inside to offer moral support. The Verma committee view comes even as the Delhi court trying the gangrape case has decided on an in-camera trial and gagged the media. Additional Sessions Judge Yogesh Khanna, who started day-to-day hearings from today, said on Monday: The trial shall, henceforth, be held by me in cameraIt shall not be lawful for any person to publish or print any matter relating to the proceedings of this case except with the prior permission of this court. Such an order is even otherwise, necessary, considering the sensitivity of the matter; to conceal the identity of victim, to ensure safety of the complainant and the accused, to ensure a fair trial and also for the smooth functioning of the court, However, it is worth pointing out that the victim is dead, and her parents have already revealed
her identity to various international journalists who have also published her name. They have also indicated that they no longer felt the need to stay anonymous.
Disclosure of the identity of the victim has already led the Delhi police to register a case against Zee News under section 228A of the Indian Penal Code, which forbids disclosure of rape victims or witnesses identities. Zee interviewed the male friend of the gangrape victim and had even indicated his name which could have served to identify the victim herself. As Firstpost noted before, the section says whoever prints or publishes the name or any matter which may make known the identity of any persons against whom an offence under section 376, section 376A, section 376B, section 376C or section 376D (all refer to rape) is alleged or found to have been committed (hereafter in this section referred to as the victim) shall be punished with imprisonment of either description for a term which may extend to two years and shall also be liable to fine. Section 228A also says that the section shall not
apply if the victim is dead, or where the victim authorises such disclosure in writing, or if this is done with the order of the court that is hearing these proceedings. As the rape victim is dead, there is no other reason beyond the letter of the law and the trial courts gag order to keep her identity secret, especially since the family has no objections to it. In the ongoing Delhi trial, The Hindu reports that advocate VK Anand, the lawyer of main accused bus driver Ram Singh, has sought an open trial. Justice Vermas report, while calling for open trials in order to demonstrate the fairness of the system, also says that rape trials needs sensitised judges. He says: It is important to have properly sensitised judges to conduct such trials. We have noted disturbing recounts of
how rape victims have been actually pulverised in-camera while suddenly facing a group of men in a hostile environment. The purpose of an incamera proceeding is to create an environment for the victim, which is conducive to the conduct of a fair trial. Here, we are of the opinion that judges who actually try rape cases must be carefully chosen by the Chief Justice of the High Court and there must be a very conscientious allocation of work when rape cases are tried by such judges. We are also of the opinion that High Courts suo motu issue appropriate guidelines to ensure that there is a friendly and non-hostile environment in such in camera proceedings in respect of rape/sexual assault cases. As a former Chief Justice of the country, maybe Verma should whisper his thoughts to the trial judge.
We had to offer practical solutions, set a precedent

The team that worked on the report said they were wary of the fact that they were working on a document everyone was waiting for.
Danish Raza, Jan 30, 2013 hen 24-year-old Saumya Saxena landed in India on a break from PhD in Cambridge University, she had no clue that she would be contributing to one of the most talked about judicial committees in India. She was in Delhi on 23 December when the Ministry of Home Affairs constituted three members Justice Verma Committee to suggest amendments to criminal law in order to tackle sexual crimes against women.
From criticising the system, I was now in a position to suggest solutions, she said. The brief given to the team, explains Abhishek Tewary, the committees counsel and in-charge of drafting of the report, was somewhere half way. We had to be holistic and we were clear that we would not work specifically on laws related to rape. Under various heads, we had to offer the most practical solutions, he said. In the beginning, every team member picked everything he or she thought was related to gender justice. When the team grew bigger and roles became clearer, they shifted from the government allotted one-room office at Vigyan Bhavan to justice Gopal Subramaniams spacious workplace in Jor Bagh area. Here, they scanned government documents which were scattered in cartons on the floor, met members of civil society, read around 80,000 emails, classified information under various heads and transcribed prolonged dictations given by Subramaniam, some of which continued into the wee hours of the night. The team was wary of the fact that it was working on a document everyone was waiting for. We were conscious of the fact that it was not just any other piece of work. That was a motivational factor. We had to set a precedent, said 27-year-old Talha Abdul Rahman, for whom the report was his maiden assignment during his stint in former solicitor generals office. The committee did not try to play God. There were free flowing discussions while drafting of
Abhishek Tewary who was in charge of drafting the committees report. Naresh Sharma/ Firstpost
One of the lawyers told me that the committee wanted helping hands. I formally applied for assistance by sending my research work and resume. And I was on board, said Saxena, the youngest of the 16 advocates and law students who helped the committee draft the report. The subject of Saumyas doctoral research was the impact of uniform civil code on gender in India and she studied public policy and gender during her Masters. But working with the committee gave her research a completely new direction, she said.
the report. There was brainstorming among the team members and civil society members on every crucial issue including death penalty or chemical castration for rapists, punishment for trafficking and lowering the age-bar for juvenile offenders, said Talha. They were familiar with the criticism that Indian laws often imitate foreign precedents and law makers in India dont think of an Indian context while drafting laws.
son to foster personal interaction repeatedly, despite a clear indication of disinterest by such person, she said. Majumder contributed to two chapters in the report- medico-legal examination of the victim and proposed criminal law amendments. Out of 16 persons who helped the committee, Saumya and Shwetasree were the only two who had prior experience of working on gender issues. That was because there are very few lawyers in the country who specialise in gender justice. We were drawing help from experts and advocacy groups who work in this field. Technically they were not part of the team but they contributed through their oral submissions and documents, said Tewary, about the teams composition. As litigants, many of the team members were well versed with the criminal jurisprudence and related issues. But they were many surprises during the course of 30 days of work. Data on trafficked children, the laid back attitude of the authorities to deal with such offences and that some governments were not even aware of the year-old MHA advisory to trace missing children shocked many of them. The month- long heavy duty discussions had their fun moments too. Saumya turned 24 and Justice Verma touched 80 during the writing of the report. We had a great time despite the seriousness of the work. Not to mention the beverages in Justice Subramaniams office. The coffee they serve can beat any other coffee on earth, said Saumya.
Shwetasree Majumder has worked pro bono on gender related cases in the past. Image courtesy Shwetasree Majumder
We wanted to draft offences which could work in the Indian milieu. For example, we have given a definition of stalking that is different from how the offence is defined in laws across the globe, said Shwetasree Majumder, a lawyer who has been practising for around a decade and works on gender issues on a pro bono basis. In the UK, she said, repeated following of a person constitutes the offence of stalking. But that will not work in India. So, we said stalking includes attempts to contact such per-
At 80 Im impatient, govt must understand
impatience of youth: JS Verma

Justice JS Verma has called for the government to step aside if it cant show the same alacrity that his committee did. Is he hoping for too much?
FP Politics, Jan 28, 2013
ts been four days since the Justice JS Verma committee, that was set up to probe crimes against women in India, submitted an impassioned plea consisting of far reaching recommendations and criticisms to the government but has received little more than an acknowledgement and vows to ensure all that can be done will be done. One could argue in favour of the government and other political parties that they have been busy with Republic Day festivities. Indeed, other than the Law Minister giving a token soundbite on the day the report was received,
that they will implement as many of the recommendations as possible, few within the government and other political parties have chosen to speak about the committees findings. But Justice Verma himself is mincing no words when it comes to the lack of action by the government and demanding that urgent steps need to be taken. If the government takes time, they should make way for persons who are quicker. If at 80 years, I am so impatient, they should understand the impatience of the youth. What is the
government there for? Verma said in a detailed interview to the Economic Times when asked about government officials deeming him impatient. When asked about the governments response to his report, the jurist said that he had sent the committees report to the Prime Minister and the only response he wanted was for them to implement it. And surprisingly enough, while many publicly called for chemical castration and death penalty for those accused of rape, Justice Verma pointed out that they hadnt included it in their set of recommendations to the government since many womens organisations in India had opposed it. The initial reactions to the report so far have ranged from cluelessness to resistance, in some cases. While IPS officials are upset over being held responsible for the actions of their subordinates, Law Minister Ashwani Kumar has already raised questions about why candidates for elections accused in cases should not be allowed to contest in the event that a court has taken cognisance of them. But the former Supreme Court judge argues that between individual interest and public interest the latter should be allowed to prevail
and in that interest, especially if a court applies its mind and takes cognisance of a case against a candidate. As Firstpost has pointed out, the committees recommendations reach well beyond its ambit, taking on patriarchy, attitudes within society and the implementation of the law. It puts an onus on the executive which is supposed to implement law, while sparing them the job of making new ones. Unfortunately what it also does is put a lot of them in an uncomfortable spot given some of its recommendations. Recommendations like modifications to the Representation of the People Act, Armed Forces Special Powers Act and other contentious legislations while appreciated by the public at large are unlikely to find too many fans among those in charge of executing and making laws. Understandably the political establishment is choosing to remain silent on the report. Sticking out their neck in support of the report is not in the interest of most political parties that were vehement in their demand for action from the government following the gangrape in Delhi, given the changes it may mean. Perhaps this Budget session of Parliament will finally be only about the budget and the BJPs criticism of Home Minister Sushilkumar Shinde. To hope for more may be to hope for too much.
Why Justice Verma Committee blames Delhi cops, public, govt

The panel also commented on the disputes relating to jurisdiction of the police over the area of crime that leads to delay in taking cognizance.
IANS, Jan 24, 2013
ew Delhi: The JS Verma Committee tasked to look into possible amendments to the criminal law for quicker trial and enhanced punishment for rapists, on Wednesday slammed Delhis police, public and the administration for not acting promptly to help the 16 December gang-rape victim.
In its recommendations, the panel came down heavily on the administration, including police as well as citizens, for not helping the grievously wounded young woman and her friend who were thrown off the bus after the brutal gangrape. The panel also slammed the police practice of approaching only a government hospital and not the nearest available hospital in a medicolegal case. The 23-year-old physiotherapist trainee was driven many kilometres away to government-run Safdarjung Hospital, though there were many good private hospitals near where she was found in a bloodied condition. It also took an open dig at the peculiarity of the Delhi government of not having the power over the police and said this ambiguity needs to be removed to maintain law and order and ensure accountability. The apathy of civil society in not coming forward to help the couple came in for sharp criticism from the committee. It noted the misbehaviour of police towards any Samaritan is often the cause for such apathy and added this must not deter citizens from doing their duty. Justice Verma also slammed the Delhi Police for using batons on the anti-rape agitators, saying it has scarred the Indian democracy. Delhi Police had attracted lot of criticism for using batons, water cannons and tear gas smoke against protesters after some of them turned violent and tried to enter crucial government buildings, including Rashtrapati Bhavan.
Using strong words, the three-member committee that submitted its report to Home Minister Sushilkumar Shinde Wednesday, said: practically every serious breach of the rule of law can be traced to the failure of performance by the persons responsible in its implementation. The undisputed facts in public knowledge relating to the Delhi gang-rape unmistakably disclose the failure of many public functionaries responsible for traffic regulations, maintenance of law and order and, more importantly, their low skewed priority of dealing with complaints of sexual assault, the 631-page report said. The panel also commented on the disputes relating to jurisdiction of the police over the area of crime that leads to delay in taking cognizance an allegation made by the victims male friend who had said that police wasted crucial time in taking the seriously injured woman to hospital while they fought over jurisdiction.
rather than MPs

All previous attempts to introduce school children to sex education have failed. Will the Justice JS Verma committee report re-open the debate?
Why its time to listen to Justice Verma
Sex ed in schools:
o more beating around the bush, we have to tell the kids about the birds and the bees, the Justice JS Verma committee has said in its report, recommending sex education in schools. School experience has a direct bearing on the extent to which gender violence can be reduced, said the committee in a chapter titled Education and Perception Reform.
The biology lesson is merely an answer to the CBSE exam. In the backdrop of the surge in crimes against women, we have to see sex education in a larger canvas. It concerns moral and ethical issues, Dr Jyoti Bose, Principal, Springdales school in Delhi, said. Dr Bose also highlighted the information students were bombarded with on the Internet- a factor which also finds mention in the committee report. With the kind of exposure kids have with the Internet and media, the current curriculum of sex education, also know as life skills in some schools, is not of much relevance. Children know far more facts then we knew when we were of their age, she said. Atiya Bose, director of Aangan, a Mumbai based NGO which works with vulnerable children, says while there is an urgent need to impart sex education in schools, it should be ensured that the mindset of teachers is in sync with changing realities. Teacher education is going to be the key. They also come from the same society in which you and I live and. They might have formed certain opinion about sex education and its consequences, she said. Over 12 per cent unmarried males and 3 per cent unmarried females in 15- 25 group reported pre-marital sex in a survey conducted by Population Council and International Institute of Population Sciences in 2006-07. However, social norms have not kept pace with changing circumstances.
There should be introduction of sex education in a clinical manner in schools since the absorption of knowledge has increased. The children and young people have to be prepared in order to be able to transition into adulthood, the committee noted. School is the place to begin with as it is a crucial institution where femininity and masculinity is attributed, the report said. Academia believe that Justice Verma committee has rightly favoured sex education in schools specially with its broadened definition taking it beyond biology lessons taught in schools from class 8 onwards.
Despite evidence that relevant and correct information delays sexual initiation, social norms discourage discussion on issues related to sexual and reproductive health. Lack of communication with parents and trusted adults keeps young people ill informed and unlikely to receive parental support in relation to sexual matters. Information on issues related to growing up remains inadequate and irrelevant to young peoples needs, notes United Nations Population Fund- India. The Department of Psychiatry, Armed Forced Medical College, Pune, conducted a cross-sectional study of factors associated with adolescent sexual activity. More than 600 students of class 9 to 12 from two private schools in Pune participated in the study. Average age at first sexual contact for boys was 13.72 years and for girls was 14.09 years when sexual contact was described as having touched private parts, kissing, or sexual intercourse. The average age of first intercourse in those who had it was 15.25 years for boys and 16.66 years for girls.
tion was part of teachers tool-kit and they could change the same depending on local factors, reported India Today. In March 2009, the Rajya Sabha Committee on Petitions, after consulting various stakeholders for 18 months, rejected the very proposal of sex education, on the pretext of culture. Our countrys social and culture ethos are such that sex education has absolutely no place in it. Basic human instincts like food, fear, greed, coitus etc. need not be taught, rather control of these instincts should be the subject of education To focus Indian education on instinct control should the important objective and for that the dignity of restraint has to be well entrenched in education,concluded the committee.
As an alternative, it suggested that the new curriculum should include appropriate material on the lives and teachings of our great saints, spiritual leaders, freedom fighters and national heroes so as to inculcate in children our naThe first official acknowledgment of the need for tional ideals and values, which would neutralise sex education in India was made a decade ago. the impact of cultural invasion from various In 1993, the CBSE conducted a national seminar sources. where parents, teachers, educationalists, psychologists and sexologists discussed modalities The following year, CBSE revised the adolescent of the adolescent education programme (AEP). education curriculum. According to the evaluation report of UNFPA India country programme The module, finalised in 1999, was circulated (2011) teachers from 3500 CBSE schools, all 919 among educational bodies. But all hell broke Kendriya Vidyala schools and 583 Navodaya loose in 2005 when the material was updated to Vidyalaya Samiti schools have received oriented attain the government of Indias objective no on adolescent education issues. new HIV infections by 2007. At least six states approached the Ministry of Human Resource It remains to be seen if the government will Development rejecting AEP as the updated shun the moral brigade and introduce sex edumodule was found too graphic for students. De- cation in schools, as recommended by the panel. tailed it was, but the offensive material in ques-
Is the Verma report implementable?
Justice Verma panel shows the way;
now comes the hard part

The Commission report offers measured, yet radical, recommendations to meaningfully address the problem of sexual assault and violence against women at many levels, including at the foundational level of societal patriarchy.
Venky Vembu, Jan 24, 2013
erhaps the most sterling contribution of the Justice JS Verma Commission, established a month ago in the wake of the horrific gang-rape incident in Delhi, is that it has virtually drawn up a Bill of Rights for women by framing sexual assaults against women in a larger socio-politico-legal context and thereby providing a framework with an allseeing, 360-degree view to address the complex problem at several levels.
The Commissions voluminous 657-page report (here), delivered on the dot to abide by the onemonth deadline it was given, provides immense clarity by filtering out the chatter born of justifiable popular outrage which manifested itself in, for instance, calls for the death penalty for rapists and instead providing a blueprint for concrete action that is both reasoned and radical. The Commissions terms of reference had proCopyright 2012 Firstpost
vided for a rather more limited ambit: to make recommendations to amend the criminal law to provide for quicker trial and enhanced punishment for criminals committing sexual assaults on women. But the three-member Commission, comprising Justice JS Verma and legal luminaries Justice Leila Seth and Gopal Subramaniam, correctly went over the top, by providing a birds-eye overview of the context in which such crimes happen. In so doing, the learned members of the Commission ensured that even while they waded into the legal minutiae of the proposed changes to the criminal law, they would not lose themselves in the labyrinth of legalese or the maze of microdetails. Instead, they have held up a beacon that lights the path towards genuine gender justice that goes beyond the reflexive resort to tweaking the law. By identifying misgovernance and the frameworks of patriarchy in society as the foundation upon which crimes against women occur, the Commission has also given agencies other than the government, the lawmakers, the police and the judiciary sufficient cause to reflect on the extent to which elements of civil society at large contribute to the climate of misogyny that feeds the commodification of women and, ultimately, acts of sexual assault and violence against women. For all of us who were seething with impotent rage in the immediate aftermath of the gangrape incident, the most frustrating aspect of the initial popular response was that it appeared to frame it entirely in a legalistic context and sought remedy in asking for the public hanging of the rapists. Pretty soon, of course, the worms of patriarchy started crawling out of the woodworks to provide pop-sociological alibis for the rapists. But even those who were able connect the dots and frame the rape in the larger context of societal attitudes towards women were overwhelmed by the number of fronts on which the battle had to be waged: police apathy that manifests itself in their blaming the victims of rape; political parties that nominate criminals, including rapists, for election to Parliament and State Assemblies; the widespread commodifica-
tion of women in the media, advertising industry and in films; self-appointed khap panchayats that peddle perverse patriarchy as law and go virtually unchallenged; religious leaders who provide scriptural sanction for misogyny One just didnt know where to begin. The Justice Verma Commissions all-seeing eye takes all of this in, and the sheer breadth of the canvas on which the Commission has painted its recommendation is awe-inspiring. First and foremost, the Commission underlines the States responsibility under the Constitution to protect the right to life with all aspects of human dignity for women. But it also points out that it isnt just about the State: every citizen of India has a fundamental duty under Article 51A of the Constitution to renounce practices derogatory to the dignity of women. Going into specifics, the Commission report makes concrete recommendations in respect of electoral reforms, police reforms, education and perception reform, measures to deal with extra-judicial authorities like the khap panchayats, child sexual abuse, trafficking in women, stalking, cyberstalking, sexual harassment in the workplace, medico-legal examinations of victims of sexual assault, and so on. More strikingly, the Commission report did not shirk from addressing what will likely prove contentious subjects such as its recommendation that the Armed Forces (Special Powers) Act (AFSPA) be reviewed to do away with the immunity given to armed forces personnel accused of sexual violence in conflict areas. In its entirety, the Commission report offers measured, yet radical, recommendations to meaningfully address the problem of sexual assault and violence against women at many levels, including at the foundational level of societal patriarchy. For the sheer intellectual rigour of the Commissions exertions, and for its attempt to channel the outrage of civil society without yielding to the knee-jerk bloodlust emotion of the moment, its members deserve the gratitude of the entire nation. Yet, even with such a lucid template for action, the challenges ahead in implementing the Commissions recommendations are not inconCopyright 2012 Firstpost
siderable. The very same agencies that enabled the rot to set in so deep will work overtime to ensure that none of the more radical recommendations are implemented. The political establishment will bristle at suggestions to amend the electoral law to disbar candidates accused of sexual violence. Police authorities will push back against prosecution of police officials for dereliction or worse in rape cases. The armed forces will claim that reviewing the AFSPA will weaken their hands in their fight against insurgency in conflict zones. And even the entertainment industry will protest that its creative freedom is being encroached upon by demands to reel in egregious instances of the commodification of women. In that sense, the hard part of getting the Commissions recommendations implemented lies ahead. Which is why it is important to channel the same vigilance, anger and outrage that we witnessed in the days and weeks following the
gang-rape incident and ensure that we dont let this moment pass quietly into the night. Its true, of course, that at the first level, the societal and legal pendulum, which has so far swung so far to one extreme and provided the space for sexual violence and assaults on women to continue for so long could now swing to the other extreme and seek to police every aspect of interaction between the sexes. That is clearly not a consummation that is desirable. Yet, that prospect should not hold back efforts to even begin to address the very serious problem of gender injustice that bedevils our society and taints us in shameful ways. Even if it swings too far to the other side, the pendulum will eventually find its equilibrium. And that world will be a whole lot more liveable for the women of India than the current hell that theyve been thrown into.
launches assault on patriarchy itself

The Justice Verma Committee set up after the Delhi Gangrape is a frontal attack on patriarchys worst features - especially gender injustice
FP Editors, Jan 24, 2013 here are two ways of looking at the Justice JS Verma committees recommendations on the efficacy of Indias laws to prevent crimes against women: an exercise in stating the obvious which will make little progress; or a comprehensive roadmap to begin the long march to a more equal and sensible society that can ultimately ensure gender justice.
Justice Verma extends brief,
chy in one single effort. No nation anywhere in the world has sought to set so much right in one report compiled in 30 days. But, bringing us down to earth is this reality: few ministries and police bosses especially Director-Generals of Police bothered to respond to the committees call for discussions and suggestions. This shows what importance they give to the subject. Justice Verma has recommended action against such DGPs, but clearly they wont be implemented, for not coming up with opinions is hardly a sin of commission. The first sign of the governments sincerity would come if all the DGPs are either censured or transferred. Changing more than just laws. Image courtesy ibnlive. However, even if this happens, nobody can presume that the old patriarchy is about to keel over and die or metamorphose into something better. Even though the committee has recommended changes in the law, its core message is not about changing the law, but attitudes. It makes no bones about the fact that existing laws are enough to deliver justice if the intention is there to deliver it. If there is no intention, no amount of changes will do any good. So, indirectly, the committee is saying that we are all guilty from government to people. It has indicted every entity, every institution, and every individual for failure to do their duty. Therein lies an inherent contradiction: the
At a press conference called to talk about the highlights of the report, the committee disclosed its important recommendations, both for changes in laws and procedure. Among them: changes in the Armed Forces Special Powers Act to reduce protection to men in uniform committing crimes; making marital rape an offence and expanding the definition of rape; changes in law to prevent trafficking in minors and women; compulsory registration of all marriages to prevent dowry; steps to ensure that all rape and sexual violence cases are registered and tried expeditiously; outlawing the verdicts of khap panchayats; creation of a protocol for dealing with rape cases, and so on(Read here). If all these and other changes are legislated and implemented, they would add up to the worlds biggest assault on the worst aspects of patriar-
bulk of the committees report will focus on the rights of women and how to ensure them, but delivering these rights will mean everyone will have to do his duty. It calls for changes in attitudes from the top to the bottom, from leaders of the executive to lawmakers; from Supreme Court judges to the magistrate sitting in smalltime district courts; from the DGPs heading police forces to the humble beat cop or the person registering FIRs in police stations. Most of these changes cannot be legislated. They involve changes in behaviour by everybody, starting with our most powerful people. Ensuring all this means the following: First, depoliticisation of the police force, so that politicians cannot influence their ability to do their job. If the policeman is not freed from political control, there is no way he is going to do his job because acting against powerful criminals will invite trouble. Second, high levels of supervision of the lower judiciary where most well-intentioned laws bite the dust by the higher judiciary. This means implementing all the key recommendations of several Law Commissions, changes in the laws of evidence, expediting cases, increasing the judge-population ratio, and tougher policing of judges and ensuring judicial accountability. Judges have delivered rape verdicts in days in some cases, and not done so even after several years in others. This shows that the judiciary is not exercising even the powers it has to ensure justice. Third, quick trials of politicians in the dock so that politics can be decriminalised. This is like asking politicians to legislate against their own short-term political interests. But there is no getting away from it. The sentencing of Om Pra-
kash Chautala and his son to 10 years in prison for a teacher recruitment scam is a strong signal from the judiciary that it can be done; a tweak in the law to complete all such cases in months instead of years will be the most powerful indicator that change is round the corner. Fourth, even after changes in the law, a huge communication and sensitisation exercise needs to be undertaken in all the law-enforcement agencies, not to speak of the judiciary itself. The law will not work unless it is made to work by putting training, monitoring and feedback systems in place for all parts of the police-legaljustice system. Fifth, the biggest message relates to society itself. It is difficult to see how society is going to change its attitudes to women all of a sudden without a huge dose of communications, discourse, debate, sensitisation, schooling, parenting, counseling and effective implementation of the law, too. Its a long road away from patriarchy. If we thought Anna Hazare and Arvind Kejriwal were demanding the moon by asking for an instant end to corruption, Justice Verma has gone one better by demanding instant gender justice and an end to patriarchy. To Justice Vermas credit, he didnt stop with half-measures. He went for the whole loaf. He delivered a magna carta for gender justice in 30 days, in time for the budget session to legislate the required changes. Over the next 30 days we will know whether politicians will pick up the gauntlet flung by Justice Verma or shrink away from it. After that, its our business. Yours and mine.
Why India doesnt need to change its rape law

What is the reason the Cabinet is now seeking death for some rapists? It isnt rising crime, as the data shows. It is bullying by the media, and the fantastic idea that legislation can solve our problems.
Aakar Patel, Feb 3, 2013 ndias cabinet approved the death penalty for rapists, it was reported on Saturday. Does India have a rape problem? fences were registered across India, the report said, in such cases too, India stands third after England (62,100) and Germany (47,070). Indias population is more than three times that of the United States and more than 12 times that of England or Germany. The data indicates that rape in India per million of population, the true indicator of crime levels, is probably among the lowest in the world. Are things getting worse? No. The annualised number for 2008 in the Express report would be 24,478. There were 24,206 rapes registered in India in 2011 and 22,172 in 2010, acccordCopyright 2012 Firstpost
No, it doesnt. This is according to a report in the Indian Express on December 9, 2008 (Its official: India 3rd worst offender in rape cases). The person filing the report didnt understand the data, which actually proves the opposite. It said in the first 9 months of that year there had been 18,359 rapes registered in India, behind only the United States (93,934) and South Africa (54,926). Altogether 44,159 cases of different sex of-
ing to a report in Mint published four years after the Express report, on December 19, 2012 (Every hour, two women are raped in India, data shows). Anyone who thinks of the United States, England and Germany as more unsafe for women than other nations has no experience of the world. Its true that as a tribal society whose women possess something called honour which can be lost, the reporting of rape cases in India is much lower than in more civilised nations. And its also true that Indias laws are not sympathetic to the victim on what specific act constitutes rape. But if we were to account for 100 percent or 200 percent or even 1,000 per cent under-reporting, India is still no more dangerous for women than even European nations, forget the rest of the third world. But to read and watch the media in India we are surrounded by rapists. Our panic and hysteria about safety in our cities has infected others. In recent weeks even the New York Times and the Guardian have run pieces reporting how unsafe Indian cities have become, though their reporters should have known better. Only one report, I think it was a journal in CNN, said the female reporter faced no problems in her travels in India. So what is the reason the Cabinet is now seeking death for some rapists (whose victims die or remain in a persistent vegetative state)? It isnt rising crime, as the data shows, or even a general problem. It is bullying by the media, a high moral dudgeon which seems to have
possessed all of us in the past couple of years, and the fantastic idea that legislation can solve our problems. This disappoints me as I have always thought of Manmohan Singh as being wise enough to recognise that writing more laws wont bring any change. And here hes legislating even where there is no evidence of an Indiaspecific problem. Perhaps hes doing this just to shut the media up. This is fine, but disappoints me still. The solution will produce more problems. Im against the death penalty generally and dont think the state should be taking life. But Im making an argument in favour of the victim here. The clearest reason not to have the death penalty is that it gives the rapist the incentive to kill the victim after the act to clear the evidence. If hes going to get death anyway, he may as well make sure hes not identified. We should think about that. There are some good changes in the new law for instance rejecting cross examination of a womans moral character, and making irrelevant her previous sexual experience. Also expanding the definition of rape. These are things that should not have been in practice in any case. And these are not changes that will reduce crimes against women, though they will certainly help in getting more cases registered. Strangely, this rise may then be seen as the law failing. And then perhaps we shall have yet another law.
Verma committee returns focus on
police reforms, experts divided

The Justice JS Verma committee has made a slew of recommendations for the police force in Delhi and across the country. Heres what some experts think.
he 28-page chapter in the Justice JS Verma committees report regarding police reforms, that advocates steps like forming a police watchdog and removing the governments influence on the force, has been received with mixed sentiments by experts. The report has said that full compliance with the police reforms, directed by the apex court in Prakash Singh case, is of utmost priority for safety of women.
decide transfers and postings below the rank of deputy superintendent of police. Former IPS officer Kiran Bedi endorsed the recommendations of Verma committee report, and said the failure of the police to prevent crimes such as the Delhi gangrape was the result of non- implementation of police reforms. The committee has rightly noted that law enforcement agencies have become tools at the hands of political masters. Crucial police appointments are in the hands of politico- bureaucratic nexus. They will not let this power go so easily and that is why they have been stalling police reforms, she said. Bedi added that a majority of DGPs not making submissions to the Verma committee only showed that they lacked spine. The DGPs did not come because they are not leaders in themselves. Their loyalty is not to the common man but to the political masters, she said.
We believe that if the Supreme Courts directives in Prakash Singh (sic) are implemented, there will be a crucial modernization of the police to be service oriented to the citizenry in a manner which is consistent with human dignity, the report said. The directives include the formation of a police watchdog called National Security Commission to remove the governments influence in selection of police personnel, a minimum tenure of two years for director generals and inspector generals of police, separation of law and order from the investigation wing in the police and creation of a Police Establishment Board to
The Justice Verma panel has criticised the Delhi polices attitude over news report that the policemen wasted crucial moments over deciding jurisdiction when the gangrape victim was lying injured on the road in South Delhi. The 23-year-old medical student died in a Singapore hospital on 29 December 2012. The events related to 16 December 2012 unmistakably disclose the failure of many public functionaries responsible for traffic regulation, maintenance of law and order, and more importantly, their low and skewed priority of dealing with complaints of sexual assault, said the report.
The committee has recommended that every individual should be able to register an FIR at any police station, irrespective of the jurisdiction in which the crime was committed. It has also recommended strict adherence to the guidelines issued for the police by the Delhi High Court in 2008. One of the guidelines says that in cases of sexual offences, the duty officer must intimate the rape crisis cell. All police stations and PCR vans should have CCTVs, said the committee. The three member panel noted that the bystanders did not come forward to help the rape victim and her friend because they did not want to deal with the police, and has said those rendering assistance to accident victims should not be questioned and detained. Nawaz Kotwal, Programme Coordinator (access
to justice programme) at Commonwealth Human Right Initiative, said that while the Verma committee reports places lot of focus on accountability not only on the police officers but also on the superiors, it is silent on the aspects of police planning. The Model Police Act talks about police planning. So far, no police organization has a plan to substantiate its budget. Some localities may be in need of more PCR vans. Another area may require more number of beat constables. This is where planning helps, Kotwal said. There has been no word from the government on the reforms suggested by the Verma committee for the police force and whether it will incorporate them remains to be seen.
Vermas gender Utopia:

Is India ready for the challenge?
The Justice Verma Committees sweeping recommendations on gender equality and legal changes will be almost impossible to implement in our overcentralised governance structure
R Jagannathan, Jan 26, 2013
few days before Republic Day, we were given the most sweeping indictment of our failures as a constitutional republic.
The Justice JR Verma Committee on Amendments to Criminal Law, set up barely a month ago in the wake of the horrific Delhi bus gangrape, was supposed to suggest changes to laws to ensure protection of women and effective prosecution of rapists and other sex offenders. But what it has effectively done is pronounce us all guiltyfrom the most powerful to the ordinary citizenof failing the test of constitutionalism and republicanism. Sixty-five years after independence, and 62 years after declaring ourselves as a republic, we are neither free nor republican-minded. Without explicitly saying so, Verma suggests that the Indian state has failed on its constitutional duties. Says the committee: We wish to base a large number of our conclusions on the theory of the constitution. The actions of those in authority have been in conflict with constitutional theory under which citizens of India are entitled to equality. To politicians who justify their actionsor inactionon the premise that since they have been voted to power, they represent the will of the people, Verma retorts: It is important to state that, even though a government may enjoy popular public will, unless and until its actions are informed by constitutionalism, it will be unable to discharge the obligations towards citizens which are guaranteed under the constitution. The way in which these rights are made visible
in life, society, and on a practical and continual basis, is the obligation of the state. This cannot be more telling in the context of women, their rights and their empowerment.
In short, the state has failed us. Even though Vermas observations and conclusions are made in the context of womens rights and gender injustice, the argument holds equally in all spheres whether it is caste inequities, religious intolerance, denial or human rights, or any other form of injustice. In the Verma Committees opinion, The ideology and the conduct of political parties, and all constitutional institutions must bear the character of a republic. It is important, therefore, that our public life as well as society must be capable of reflecting republicanism. Indias democracy, as well as sovereignty is contingent on the realisation of the ideal of social justice. We are, therefore, of the view that gender inequality is contrary to the unifying idea of a sovereign, democratic republic.
Where the Verma committee fails is in its inability or unwillingness to identify the reasons for the failure of the Indian state and its political parties to remain republican and democratic in character, and eager to defend human rights. Suggesting corrective actionwhether for womens rights or anything elseis pointless unless you know what has gone wrong. He has suggested remedies without a diagnosis. If the ideology and conduct of our political parties do not reflect the democratic character of the republic, we need to know why our people and parties have collectively subverted the constitution. Our politicians cannot subvert the constitution without wider electoral sanction. The committee quotes Ambedkar to suggest that the constitution is fine, but we messed up as a people. Ambedkar said at the time of the constitutions adoption: I feel that the constitution is workable, it is flexible and it is strong enough to hold the country together both in peacetime and in wartime. Indeed, if I may say so, if things go wrong under the new constitution, the reason will not be that we had a bad constitution. What we will have to say is that man was vile. Two conclusions can be drawn from Ambedkars statement: if men are vile, then it is our attitudes as a people that need fixing first, not the constitution. On the other hand, if we assume that constitutions are meant to define what is acceptable in terms of citizens behaviour, it is not possible to assume that we have the right constitution to enable behaviour change either. Put another way, the state has failed, the constitution has not lived up to expectation, and we as a people have failed to make either the state or the constitution work. In fact, over the years we have made our laws more and more draconian and rigorous in the hope that we will fix our polity. But the pace of change has been slow, excruciatingly slow. We have seen over 100 constitutional amendments, and we have several draconian laws (the Armed Forces Special Powers Act, the Unlawful Activities Prevention Act) to protect our people, and many others specifically to protect the weak and poor for Dalits, for women, for tribals, etc but we continue to see more failures than suc-
cess. We are surely missing something here since constitutional changes, special laws and manmaking has failed. This writer believes that that missing something is decentralisation. We are simply too centralised to make our polity work. A nation of 1,210 million and with such diversity is simply too big to be run from Delhi, or even some of the state capitals. Uttar Pradesh would be the fifth biggest country in the world. It is probably one of the least efficiently run states. A mid-sized Indian state like Kerala with a population of 33 million is as big as Canada or Iraq. Maybe it needs to become two states. Given this reality, the prime constitutional change we need is to super-federate both in terms of division of powers, and reduction in the average sizes of states. A super-federation would mean the following: One, the role of the centre would be reduced to defence, foreign affairs, a unifying fiscal and monetary policy with in-built constitutional provisions for the redistribution of resources from rich to poor states, administration of central taxation, managing the federal judiciary, and some broad responsibilities that cannot be delegated to states. Two, the average state has to be empowered to make most of its own laws, complete with its own Supreme Court as in the United States. It should not have a population of more than 2050 million, depending on administrative ease. Three, the big cities must become independent city-states within the Indian Union so that they can be drivers of growth. The Delhi National Capital Region has 22 million people, and Mumbai over 18 million. There are more than 100 countries in the world with fewer people. These are huge numbers to manage. City-states need a different kind of government than states that are a mix of urban and rural centres because they tend to attract a lot more talent and are very commercial in orientation especially the coastal cities.
As we have noted before, growth is often driven by what can be called charter-cities cities that are run to different rules than their hinterland. Cities like Dubai, Singapore, Hongkong, and even Shanghai. Mumbai can be a charter-city within Maharashtra a mini-state within a state with its own administrative and governance rules and taxes. The same can be proposed for Delhi, Bangalore, Chennai, etc. The point is simple: we are simply too big for us to be a successful republic. A huge population of 1.2 billion, or states with tens of millions of people, most of them poor, cannot be governed centrally. This is the prime cause of bad governance, where no successful economic or political governance model can ever be established since our differences over caste, religion, ethnicity and region tend to neutralise all experiments and initiatives. An example would suffice: can we ever have consensus on even a simple idea like reservations for women in parliament? Vested interests will use caste and religion to scuttle the idea and they have done so. But we have had no problem in reserving seats for women at the panchayat level. Its working, but panchayats have too little powers.
The solution is to push decisions with day-today impact on ordinary peoples lives to the lowest possible level where vested interests cannot operate and defeat everybody. Big changes in society of the kind envisaged by Justice Verma are difficult to manage topdown unless we are talking very small societies. Superfederalism is one part of the answer. Our constitution does not work because it cannot be enforced uniformly over such a diverse land. Implementing any law is impossible with centralisation. Justice Vermas report on constitutionalism, republicanism and gender justice will remain a dead letter till we are able to push governance responsibilities down to the most logical level. Justice Verma has made his suggestions to the centre, but the law is effectively administered by the states. A changed law would not work without a changed mindset in the states. He has thus addressed the problem at the wrong end. Read more about federalism here, and about the Verma Committee report here, here and here.
bender is Project 2030

Justice Vermas report on gender biases and equality is really Project 2030. It is not a single-bullet cure for patriarchy
R Jagannathan, Jan 24, 2013 n 24 December 2012, faced with escalating public protests in the wake of the Delhi bus gangrape, Home Minister Sushil Kumar Shinde announced the formation of a three-member committee headed by former Chief Justice of India JS Verma to suggest ways for improving safety and security of women, including the adoption of stricter rape laws. Shindes intent was probably just to defuse the gender bomb ticking in Delhis unsafe streets.
No silver bullet: Vermas gender
What he has now been lobbed is a nuclear bomb whose intent is less to deal with the crime of rape, and more with the unyielding nature of Indian patriarchy, the unresponsiveness of a decrepit Indian state and its policing arms, and the atrophy of constitutional institutions. In short, the Justice Verma report (read the full report here) is a recipe for total revolution. What is being demanded in the name of womens rights including a Bill of Rights is actually applicable to every member of Indian
society. The Anna Hazare anti-corruption agitation was a sideshow compared to this. If even a tenth of its recommendations are implemented, we are going to see a sea change in the kind of politicians we elect, a complete overhaul of the police system, huge investments in legal infrastructure, and massive investments in gender sensitisation of schools and even parents and elders, among other things. And yes, it also would make rape and sexual harassment and assaults expensive for all violators. At the very least, given honest executive intent, we will see major changes in election laws to filter out sexual offenders and potential criminals, a reduction in politicians penchant to influence the police, higher accountability in the police force for the wrongs committed by their junior officers and constables by introducing a command responsibility, and so on and so forth. This is why it is difficult to avoid cynicism about where the 631-page report will end up. In the dustbin of history or on academic bookshelves? Just on bookshelves, or on the statute books? Just on the statute books, or in actual police manuals and training programmes? Just in instruction manuals, or also school curricula? Blueprints to turn a society upside down are never implemented during the lifetime of a prophet, even if the prophet happens to be a well-regarded former Supreme Court judge appointed by the government. Prophetic wisdom is first rejected, and then grudgingly imbibed in smaller doses, over time. A long time. Consider just a few of the Verma committees suggestions and the kind of opposition it could face. The most worrying suggestion of the committee (from the point of view of the establishment) relates not to the laws it has proposed to change, but its bold assertion that it is not the laws, but the laws enforcers who must change. So it has not bothered to do anything more than make small suggestions on rape law. The government would have been happy if the committee had called for the death penalty of chemical castration, which it could have happily incorporated into the law or given the idea to yet another
committee to study. But the committee has given the government no such opportunity as it has pointed its accusatory finger directly at the executive both state and centre by saying it is not implementing the law. Failure of good governance is the obvious root cause for the current unsafe environment eroding the rule of law, and not the want of needed legislation. And further: The committee has been reassured that strict observance and faithful implementation of the constitutional mandate and the existing laws by a competent machinery is sufficient to prevent, and if need be, to punish any sexual harassment or assault; and the improvement needed in the laws, if any, is marginal, to await which is no excuse for the impairment of the rule of law. In short, the message is: act, dont procrastinate. Shinde now has to get up and get going. But having said that, the committee recommends a host of changes in laws that will hit the powerful where it hurts most. It has proposed changes in the Representation of the People Act to debar candidates whose anti-women crimes have been taken cognisance of (even if they are not convicted); it has castigated the Election Commission for not keeping up-to-date records on the crimes candidates have been accused of and for not verifying their antecedents; it has asked for changes in the Armed Forces Special Powers Act so that the police and civil society can inquire into crimes by army personnel; it has called for police reforms that almost all states have resisted so far. It has even asked for changes in street lighting to prevent crimes and, straying far afield from its brief, has even called for encouragement of street vendors to make bus-stops and footpaths safe for women. Some obvious inferences are unavoidable. First, this is not merely the work of the Justice Verma and his two co-members, Justice (Retd) Leila Seth, and Gopal Subramanium, former Additional Solicitor General. From the language of the report and the deep inferences and quotations drawn from sociologists, international studies, and global jurisprudence, it is clear that
social activists and NGOs have had a disproportionate influence in the composition of the report. Second, the magisterial nature of the work makes it a great approach document, but there is a huge disconnect between what it prescribes and what current Indian social reality is about. The intellectual and ethical underpinnings of the report are ultra urban in character, and make no allowances for the actual state of Indian society in transformation at multiple levels. Third, the report makes almost no allowance for social and cultural norms, which will put it in conflict with current Indian political realities. While no one will dispute its statement that khap panchayats are operating outside the ambit of constitutionality by prescribing honour killings for swagotra and inter-caste marriages, it recommends an override for human rights over extant community laws. Thus all marriages have to be recorded before a magistrate, something minority communities with their own personal laws will find difficult to swallow. Fourth, the committees blind spot has been
the judiciary not surprising, since two of its three members are former judges. While politicians and the police come under harsh scrutiny, the committee has done little to excoriate the judiciary, which has been an accessory to crimes against women by delaying verdicts and adopting gender-insensitive attitudes. While politicians can be barred and policemen sacked for not doing their jobs, nothing will happen to judges who delay justice. Beyond an exhortation to the judiciary to step in to discharge the constitutional mandate of enforcing fundamental rights and implementation of the rule of law, the judiciary has been treated with kid gloves. But the critiques are less important that what Justice Verma and his army of helpers have achieved. They have given us a roadmap and an attitudinal compass for a truly egalitarian and equal society. But its a roadmap for 2030 not just today. It needs more than just a few changes in the law or actions by a few members of the state or the police. It requires action from all of us. Are we ready for the challenge?
Dear politicians, make the

Justice Verma report an election issue
Politicians can argue after other issues, but on violence against women, they must act as one.
t is a week of emphatic speeches, from President Obama on Americas future, Prime Minister David Cameron on Europes future, and Justice VS Verma on Indias future. Make no mistake, some of the suggestions from the report are as bold as its conclusions are damning. Condemning the apathy of those who passed by the gangrape victim that prompted the commission, the inaction of police and government, and the snails pace of the judiciary, Justice Verma didnt hold back. More than 80,000 suggestions were made to
Tristan Stewart-Robertson, Jan 24, 2013 the commission, and basic conclusions such as removing laws protecting army personnel, stopping dowry, and developing a new medical protocol for rape are essential. Effectively implementing existing laws should be the commitment of every politician, public safety official and member of the judiciary must become an immediate culture change across the country. There is no blame of women in what I have seen of the report so far. Plenty of men like to do so because no man wants to admit he cant control his own mind from recognising the difference between right and wrong. Rape isnt a question of libido, its an abuse of power and a crime of
violence. Those guilty of the crime need to get back in control of their heads, and society needs to act when they dont. Why not ensure the root cause is prevented? Have a safe environment so that such incidents dont take place, said Justice Verma. The committee hopes that the concern shown by the government will not wane with the passage of time. Now it is for people to ensure politicians do not back off. Rarely do political parties fight elections on principle. Sure, they claim they do, but really there are mere talking points and suggestions to appeal to their base of supporters, while watering them down enough to attract others. Overhauling and modernising the policing and judicial efficiency on rape cases now must be a fight of principle. Either a politician works to make India better, or they dont get elected. Make it a red-line issue. Yes, there will be nuances within the report that will require financial investment, education, legislative tweaks and other adjustments. But the changes must be minor, and the commitment major. Every time a woman or any individual is raped and it is impressive to see Justice Verma ac-
knowledge men, bisexuals and transgenders we have to ask why. When the frequency of rape and gangrape is so high, that question becomes more urgent. Any politician, at any level of state, can easily commit to working to bring about the recommendations of Justice Verma. There can be little or no hesitation on any of the key points of the Justice Verma Report. Tackling trafficking of children, addressing violence against women in conflict areas, significantly reducing the length of time cases take to get through courts these are basic but incredibly important changes. They will make a difference, if politicians commit to them. There has been plenty of talk about rape and violence against women since the outrage of the attack against and subsequent death of a 23-year-old student. If those seeking elected office cant commit to making India a safer and more mature country, if they cant sign a pledge to see this report made a reality, then they have little business earning votes. Politicians can argue after other issues, but on violence against women, they must act as one. And wider society must hold leaders to that higher standard, as well as meeting that standard itself.
Kiran Bedi calls for third uprising
to implement Verma report

Firstposts Sandip Roy caught a quick chat with Kiran Bedi on the sides of the Jaipur Literature Festival where she launched a book on the history of the Anna movement. She speaks on the Verma commission report, and the impact of Uprisings in India.
Sandip Roy, Jan 24, 2013
aipur: Kiran Bedi launched a book about the history of the Anna movement called Uprising 2011. She said when she was looking for a history of the freedom movement there were only mota mota kitabs. She said this book has stories, reports, even cartoons. It is history not just to be read but also to be seen history for the new generation. Yeh rangeen hai she said.
But do you think all change will have to come through uprisings? 1 and 2 and now 3? Yes for some time we will need uprisings. Because that is the kind of vacuum our political leaders have created. We will have these aandhis. The vacuum is huge. This uprising compelled the government to set up the Verma commission. Now we will need one to implement them. Ultimately change has to come from politicians willing to enact laws? You dont have to become a politician. You can change the politicians. It will come by compulsion. The Justice Verma commission is an example. But politicians can bury the recommendations of the commission? No not this time. Things cannot be same any more. There will be PILs. There is no easy escape. People, the youth have found their feet and voice. Police wont be able to refuse FIRs now they way they used to for example. Courts will be moving faster. There is a Lokpal bill. It has been passed by the select commission. It is up to the media to ask when is the government is going to bring it forward budget session or monsoon session. Did the government take you up on your offer to train policemen? No they did not.
She said that the Uprising 2011 sowed the seeds for the second Uprising the one against violence against women. What we will need now, she said is a third Uprising, in order to force the government to implement the recommendations of the Verma commission. What is the lesson for Uprising 3 from Uprising 1 and 2? That it must remain non-political. There is a huge space for a non political mass moKiran Bedivement. The moment a group of us decided to go political it became a completely different thing. That is the lesson for the young people be strongly nonpolitical, stay strongly non political.
Will Justice JS Verma join the

junkyard of forgotten committees?
A look at various committes that have probed issues ranging from police reforms to political reforms.
Shining Path, Feb 1, 2013 ne of the advantages of enjoying a tipple or three with friends is the ease in formulating sweeping policy recommendations for the various ills that beset our society and polity. Fearlessly nonsensical, these propositions and formulations are not only well understood and earnestly discussed by inebriated enlightened souls but also examined respectfully by the motley bunch of thirsty guzzlers, delicate sippers and macho bottoms-uppers.
power. Once suitably intoxicated, they then proceed to enact the exact same scenario described above. Nonsense is once again discussed, understood and respected. There is a crucial difference though the stakes are a tad bigger and the impact of a drunken commitment to nonsense much more real and infinitely longerlasting than the ephemeral respect of delightfully tipsy friends. For these are the folks who claim to run our country and address its myriad ills. When cornered into doing their professed jobs, they seek refuge in the formation of committees. And then, punch-drunk on power, they shoot down the reports and recommendations made by the committees, in a never-ending cycle of replacing sense with nonsense. Nonsensical backburners. Nonsensical delays. Nonsensical inaction. Sinfully sozzled, taking turns as they sip and slurp, one wonders if they even notice when they invert the entire concept of justice and good governance and take it one step further into the realm of farce. Take the Justice Verma Committee report. Commonsensical. Perfectly logical. Yet, political panties in a twist because someone exceeded his brief? The country desperately needs some of those recommendations to be implemented. As the Firstpost report indicated, the entire document has now vanished from the Home Ministrys portal, replaced by the smiling face of Shinde. The 4-step dance of the power-drunk, ladies and gentlemen, is on first a committee, then a report, then some obfuscation & obscurantism and finally the burial. Men at work, business as usual. Report vanishes. Justice follows suit. And all that remains is the Issue. Unresolved.
Sometimes the level of communion reaches hitherto unattained heights and respect takes on alarming proportions. Sighting a halo is not entirely uncommon messianic zeal, after all, does involve collateral damage. I, of course, speak from personal experience, having been on both ends of the nonsense-andhalo spectrum; the Zen-state doler and nonchalant flaunter, as well as the apprentice-monklike receiver and eager sighter. Ah, the joys of drinking with friends. Unlike us mere mortals, our political masters prefer sipping from another cup, the cup of
Committees, Reforms & the Great Indian Vanishing Trick: Let me now quote some of the most damaging examples of this tendency of political parties to negate the sensible and the crucial. Police Reforms: An area of huge concern to the country for over 40 years. Naturally, there have been multiple Committees to supposedly address those concerns. Here is a list not exhaustive that sheds some light on how the political masters use the Great Indian Committee trick so that they can pretend that transformation is happening. Yeah sure, I just saw 3 pigs fly past my window. 1971 Gore Committee on Police Training. The committee made 186 recommendations, 45 of those were related to police reforms. I will reserve further comments on the implementation aspect, especially on the recommendations pertaining to the structure of the police system. 1977 The National Police Commission [NPC] was the first commission to exhaustively review the Indian police system. NPC wrote eight reports in four years. The eight reports suggested all together 291 recommendations related to police reforms. Most of the recommendations have not been implemented. 1998 Ribeiro Committee on Police Reforms set up by the central government [as directed by the Supreme Court]. 2000 The Padmanabhaiah Committee on Police Reforms set up by the Ministry of Home Affairs, Government of India. 2001 Malimath Committee on Reforms of Criminal Justice System. 2003 Committee on Reforms of Criminal Justice System, Government of India, Ministry of Home Affairs. 2005 The Central Government set up the Soli Sorabjee Committee to draft a new model bill to guide state governments adoption of new police laws. The Committee was required to take into account the changing roles, responsibilities and challenges of policing. Report submitted to the Home Ministry in 2006.
2009 Law Commission of India [Report No. 230], submitted to the Union Minister of Law and Justice, Ministry of Law and Justice, Government of India. 2012 Law Commission of India, Expeditious Investigation and Trial of Criminal Cases Against, Influential Public Personalities Report No.239, Submitted to the Supreme Court. The most damaging commentary on the state of affairs is perhaps this: in 2005, the Supreme Court of India delivered its historic judgment instructing the Central and the State Governments to comply with a set of seven directives that laid down a practical mechanism to start police reforms. Last I checked, the governments were in contempt of court. Electoral Reforms: A topic I have covered extensively in the past, and after having pored over almost all the reports mentioned below, I can state unequivocally that NONE of the important recommendations have been implemented, save for some cosmetic changes hither and thither, low-impact of course. Nevertheless, the list of Committees/Reports follows: 1975 - Tarkunde Committee Report 1990 - Goswami Committee on Electoral Reforms 1993 - Vohra Committee Report 1998 - Indrajit Gupta Committee on State Funding of Elections 1999 - Law Commission Report on Reform of the Electoral Laws 2001 - National Commission to Review the Working of the Constitution 2004 - Election Commission of India Proposed Electoral Reforms 2008 - The Second Administrative Reforms Commission 2010 - Background Paper on Electoral Reforms [Ministry of Law]
2011 - NEW Recommendations for Electoral Reforms [submitted to Law Ministry & Election Commission of India] And finally, Anti-graft [aka Lokpal]: To shamelessly borrow from one of my earlier blogposts, the scenario looks somewhat like this on the issue of anti-graft The Aborted attempts.The first attempt was in 1966, when the then President Dr. Radhakrishnan set up the Administrative Reforms Commission headed by Morarji Desai. It was this ARC which first recommended enacting a law for the establishment of a Lokpal. The baby was then gleefully killed in the womb on 11 occasions. Be it the abortionists in the Lok Sabha, or the Rajya Sabha or some superlatively meaningless review Committee. Different abortion clinics, same end result. See what the abortionists did in 1968. And then
again in 1971, 1977, 1985, 1989, 1996, 1998, 2001, 2005, 2008, 2011. Aborted it each time, thats what! Select committees, Standing committees, bills withdrawn and what have you not! In light of the facts presented in this write-up, calling the attempts of the political establishment to deliver meaningful change on any front [except MREGA etc] sincere would be a horrendous absurdity; on the other hand, calling their attempts insincere is a truer reflection of reality. Afterthought: Do they get away with it because we allow them to? I will be taking up the issue of Judicial & Police Reforms in greater detail over the next fortnight. Your inputs, insights and suggestions are most welcome. shining.path.notperu@gmail.com
The gaps
Verma reports big miss:

Legalising commercial sex work
There are many reasons when the Justice Vermas job remain unfinished. Heres why it needs a permanent mandate.
R Jagannathan, Feb 5, 2013
alaniappan Chidambaram did a good job of defending the governments ordinance on amending criminal laws on rape when he said that the non-inclusion of some of the recommendations of the Justice JS Verma Committee does not amount to their rejection.
begun. Nor is the debate over gender justice over. And there is need for the Verma committee to look at its own omissions. For example, after bravely abandoning traditional ideas of honour, shame, etc, which prevent women from fully claiming their sexual autonomy or seeking redress for violations, the committee has almost nothing to say on legalising commercial sex work that some women may take up voluntarily. We will discuss this idea a bit more later. This writer has three points to make on why the Verma committees work is unfinished. One, the Verma Committee was propelled by a self-selecting group of women activists and NGOs with special interests, and to that extent it is not representative. It has clearly not heard all its detractors, perhaps for want of time, or perhaps for want of powers to summon stakeholders for their views. Justice Verma himself said that the police hardly put in an appearance. He said it more by way of a complaint, but isnt it the job of the committee to insist on hearing all stakeholders? Having left it to the good intent of DGPs to come or not to come, the hearings were clearly one-sided. The Verma committee also made strong remarks against khap panchayats, but how many representatives of khaps were heard for their side of the story? This is not to defend retrograde khap opinions, but to point out a simple issue: lack of natural justice. Very few mens groups seem to have been heard. The fact that there were a lot of young
The correct position, he said, was none of the recommendations had been rejected. Those changes that did not find their way into the ordinance could be earmarked for a broader debate. Nobody should actually have any quarrel with this position as long as it is sincere. However, the debate needs to be reopened not only at the legislative end, but also at the Verma Committee end. If the government is really sincere, it should make the Verma Commission into a permanent statutory body that looks at the overall issue of improving gender justice even while being empowered to continuously monitor the actual impact of the changes in the law to ensure that they are working as intended, and not being misused. The truth is the Verma committees job has just
men aiding the committee does not mean dissenters were heard. The people who really need to be heard are those representing the other side of the argument. There is, for example, a mens right group called Save Indian Family Foundation, which has been pointing out the inequities and misuse of the anti-dowry and domestic violence act against men. However patriarchal or male-oriented this group might be, the Verma committee should have called for its opinions. A permanent Verma Commission can make good this omission. Two, the work of the committee cannot end with changes in the law. It must also monitor how the law is implemented, both in its use and abuse. For example, the legal changes proposed by the government ordinance and the bulk of the Verma Committee own recommendations seek to shift the onus of proof to men from women. In our male-oriented society, women who faced rape or sexual assaults are presumed to have brought it on themselves. But now, the boot is on the other foot. Earlier, women had a tough time proving there was non-consensual sex; now it is up to men to prove that there was explicit consent for sex. Fair enough. But this is not going to be an easy thing to prove when it is the women who will be making the accusations and they are the only ones who can substantiate the mans claim of consensual sex. The problem is not the changes in the law, but how it will be implemented. The committee, thus, needs a long-term mandate to monitor its use and abuse. This is what all Indian laws lack the ability to monitor them at work. In the
case of the far-reaching recommendations of the Verma Committee, the work will have been in vain if we stop at changing the law itself. Three, the committee went far beyond its brief to look at issues not directly related to rape laws alone. It went into police reforms, it went into the issue of trafficking in women, it looked at juvenile homes and how they are run. But it missed out a very important element: commercial sex workers. India needs to have a legalised and well-regulated commercial sex workers sector, both to prevent the exploitation and trafficking of women, and to serve as a safety valve for the millions of young people pouring into cities and towns in search of jobs and a future. The committee either did not look at the issue at all, or possibly avoided looking at it, given the feminist views of the dominant groups who worked on the final report. It is time we abandoned our moralistic attitude to commercial sex workers both women and men, even though there may be more of the former. As long as women are drawn into sex work for commercial reasons and are not forced into it, they need to be provided a protected environment to practice their trade. This is why sex work needs a proper legal environment where they are not exploited by pimps and the police, even while being given proper healthcare. This is Vermas biggest omission.
Verma committee report:

Why did the govt ignore AFSPA?
In spite of the recommendations of the Justice Verma committee, the government did not repeal the AFSPA. What signal is the government sending to people in conflict zones?
FP Staff, Feb 5, 2013 hy did the government not heed the recommendations of the Verma Committee on removing the special privileges of the army that the Armed Forces Special Powers Act (AFSPA) provides? Are the activists who demand repealing the AFSPA completely wrong?
ing by saying that it is okay to rape women in Kashmir, North-East and Central India? Is it okay to rape women where armed conflict is going on?, sociologist and activist Nandini Sundar asked. According to her, the extra-judicial killings or encounter deaths in conflict areas can still be understood in terms of self defence or standard army operating procedures. (But) rape can done never in the course of duty. Sexual assault is a deliberate act. However, the standard response of the army to these concerns has been to cite doubtful and controversial cases of sexual assault namely the Kunan Poshpora case and the Shopian case, both in Kashmir. The army says that these cases prove that the army is unfairly victimised in conflict areas and less than 1-2% of all reported rape cases are actually true. Which is why, they say the women activists should tone down their demand for army personnel to be tried under the civil laws. Nandini Sundar however claimed that in both Kunan Poshpora and Shopian, there are ample evidences to cite that the case has not been fabricated as was claimed by certain reports. One needs to see who should tone down their demand, she added. She said, The normal practice (in conflict zones) is to say that it is concocted by the militants or the Maoists. The doubt is then magnified by saying that the women are lying.
No, said activist Bina Lakshmi Nepram. There are numerous cases of rape and sexual assault in Manipur, which comes under the purview of AFSPA, where the guilty have not been brought to book. Speaking to Sagarika Ghose on a late night discussion on CNN-IBN, She said, If rape committed by a common person is punished, why should the army enjoy immunity? All we are asking is accountability to rape, to a crime and not the complete removal of the army. But what is the signal the government is send-
Justice Verma should have demanded
more time, resources

The report is a great first step - but theres a lot more that needs to be done - by the political system.
Anant Rangaswami, Jan 24, 2013 extended beyond this incident. In July 2011, it was revealed that News of the World reporters had hacked the voicemail of murder victim Milly Dowler. Reacting to this, David Cameron announced that a public inquiry under the Inquiries Act 2005 would be chaired by Lord Justice Leveson on 13 July, 2011.
he report tabled by Justice Verma Committee yesterday, all 631 pages of it, underlines how important an issue rape and violence against women is. The committee was set up to suggest ways to make rape laws stronger in the country in the wake of the horrifying Delhi bus rape case.
Part one of the inquiry was set up to look into the culture, practices and ethics of the press, including contacts between the press and politicians and the press and the police; it is to consider the extent to which the current regulatory regime has failed and whether there has been a failure to act upon any previous warnings about media misconduct. Lord Justice Leveson published his report on Part 1 of the Inquiry on 29 November 2012. To understand the gargantuan scale of the task (it had 97 evidence days), take a look at these figures (all from the BBC website): Lord Leveson himself spoke over 330,000 words, which would translate into about 4 fulllength novels 474 individuals were witnesses These individuals were from 135 organisations 202 witnesses were from media and PR 48 witnesses were from the police 41 witnesses were from the legal field 38 politicians were spoken to 21 witnesses were from regulators or watchdogs More details of the numbers can be found here. All these numbers are relevant. The Leveson Inquiry (frequently asked questions are listed here) had the time and the resources to summon, question and speak to a wide range of stakeholders, including, for example, David Cameron, prime minister of England, Rupert
The Verma Committee wrapped up proceedings in 29 days, demonstrating an alacrity and a commitment to purpose which is rarely seen in India. In addition to the three member committee, the task was supported by an oral consultation with representatives of several stakeholders, particularly the womens social action groups and experts in the field. In addition, the committee was helped by the dedicated industry of a group of young lawyers, law graduates and academics. Finally, the committee received 80,000 recommendations from people from across the world. In 2007, News of the World royal editor Clive Goodman and a private investigator were convicted of illegal interception of phone messages. The News of the World then claimed that this was an isolated incident, but The Guardian claimed that evidence existed that this practice
Murdoch, chairman of News Corp, which owned the now defunct News of the World and even Tony Blair, former prime minister. The JS Verma Committee tasked to look into possible amendments to the criminal law for quicker trial and enhanced punishment for rapists, on Wednesday slammed Delhis police, public and the administration for not acting promptly to help the 16 December gang-rape victim, Firstpost reported yesterday. Where was the committees interaction with these stakeholders the police, the public and the administration? It is this interaction which would have greatly enhanced the report and, as a consequence, the recommendations made. The complexity is not helped by the fact that, in the final analysis, rape is a hyperlocal issue, the prevention of it, in large part, the onus of the smallest police station. The Justice Verma committee would have been well served if they attempted to understand why these police stations are so apathetic to victims of rape and violence against women; if they understood, from women, what could be done; if they interacted with administration at the centre and at
the states to understand the challenges. The report is a great first step but theres a lot more that needs to be done by the political system. This is something Lord Leveson had to face as well. Take a look at the last FAQ on the Leveson Inquiry website and the answer: What will happen after the report? How will the findings be used? It will be for the Government to decide how to take forward the recommendations in the report. The challenge, in India, is to maintain the pressure so that the good work begun by Justice Verma and his colleagues is taken as seriously as it needs to be. Perhaps a beginning would be to convert the committee immediately into a permanent body which is given the resources and the time to talk to all the stakeholders and focus, on a continuous basis, on the area of rape and violence against women.
The anti-rape ordinance
anti-rape ordinance is a sham

Given the absence of a meaningful and effective judicial process, the new laws may at best achieve this: A rapist who once managed to evade a five-year jail term, will now duck twenty years in prison.
Not in India: Why the
wo events occurred in the last couple of days. One, the government announced its anti-rape ordinance. And two, Sonia and Rahul Gandhi paid a personal visit to the home of the Delhi gang-rape victim. Both were easy fixes and shared the same intent: to simulate political commitment to a hazardous cause. For sixty-plus years this is what has passed for governance in India: passing progressive laws while keeping intact a compromised and broken system that precludes effective enforcement.
Lakshmi Chaudhry, Feb 4, 2013 Rapes occur around the world, even in the socalled civilised West a fact brought up over and again by columnists (usually male) who dont see what the fuss is all about. But in no other advanced country is it as easy to rape a woman and get away with it to rely on the shame of the victim; the familys greater concern with its honour; a feudal and corrupt police force; investigative norms that are humiliating and violative; a judicial system that can take decades to deliver justice.
Sexual violence against women is a hot potato for all the reasons outlined in the Verma committee report. To recognise its true nature and scope requires acknowledging not just patriarchy, but the more politically inconvenient reasons as to why rapes go unreported and unpunished in India. Our law and order system incentivises rape, especially of women and girls who do not matter in the grand hierarchy of things. Like that 11-year old in Sikar who was languishing in a hospital, her genitals torn apart, months before the Delhi gang-rape. Her family is now receiving threats, says her 16 year old sister, They say You are poor, what can you do? Take some money and take back the case. Contrary to popular self-delusion, these kinds of incidents may occur in Europe or North America but they are not routine. But they are far too common in towns and villages across India, so much so they dont even make national news. Most of us wouldnt have even known of the Sikar case if the Delhi gang-rape didnt become a national cause celebre. In India, the female body is disposable, to be used at will, or discarded at the very moment of conception. Take, for instance, the debate over marital rape which is a punishable crime in many of the same countries we insist have far more reported rapes than us. In India, however, a womans body remains the property of her husband. The modern idea that a womans body is her own is seen as so radical that the UPA government has preferred to entirely ignore the pesky Verma committe proposal on the matter of marital rape. And in failing to recognise this basic priniciple of female autonomy, the anti-rape ordinance has failed even as a symbolic acknowledgement of the root cause of sexual violence. There have been many justifications offered for not treating spousal rape as a punishable crime, and most cite the unique aspects of the Indian context. Some argue that it is counter-productive in a patriarchal society to deprive a woman of the protection of her husbands presence. Others like Times of India blogger Prashant Pandey point to anti-dowry laws as a warning
against progessive tinkering in India: Not recognizing marital rape makes India a regressive country more than a hundred countries already have similar laws. But recognizing it, with the kind of investigative mechanism we have in place, is equally dangerous If 85 percent of those accused under 498(A) were innocent, then its unfair to enact another act which could be similarly abused. Its too sophisticated a concept for a feudal paternalistic society and an even more feudal and paternalistic police force. We must first implement police reforms, then enact laws on marital rape. Till police reforms take place, we must live with the opprobrium of not having laws on par with the western world. But then, when we compare our laws with the West, we should not forget the link between strict laws and efficient investigative capabilities. The argument that we shouldnt have a law precisely because it is misused can easily be extended to great chunks of the Indian Penal Code. Thanks to the level of corruption in the police force and political interference from above almost every law on the book has been misused to harass the innocent and protect the powerful. So why not scrap them all? And the 85 percent claim is likely a misreading of conviction rates in 498(A) cases which stood at a paltry 19 percent in 2010. Then again, the conviction rate for dowry deaths in the same year was 34 percent. Should we assume all those not convicted of dowry deaths were innocent? Or should we entertain the possibility that especially in India, where the conviction rate more likely reflects the competence of our police force than the merits of any given case? Marital rape is not a figment of some feminists imagination: According to the UN Population Fund, more than two-thirds of married women in India, aged 15 to 49, have been beaten, or forced to provide sex. In 2011, the International Men and Gender Equality Survey revealed that one in five has forced their wives or partner to have sex. More importantly, it is not a different category of offense than rape outside marriage
that requires less stringent punishment. The level of violence is often no less extreme. Under the guise of protecting conjugal rights which ought to be grounds for divorce not rape we have left intact the notion that a man essentially owns his wife. A wife he can no longer beat or threaten, but can still rape. She is the one woman he can sexually assault with full legal impunity. But heres the more important point: We keep debating the exclusion of marital rape as though it matters in a system that has entirely failed to deter rape, period. As one womens rights lawyer said about the marital rape provision, On the ground, as lawyers fighting for womens rights, we know that a law to this effect will not make that much of a difference. The prognosis will likely hold true for the lofty sounding provisions that were included in the anti-rape ordinance. To turn Pandeys argument on its head, given the absence of a meaningful and effective judicial process, the new laws may at best achieve this: A rapist who once managed
to evade a five-year jail term, will now duck twenty years in prison. Our dysfunctional judicial system is the perfect form of legal kryptonite, negating any effort to ensure justice. It wont work in India, becomes the chant of naysayers of all stripes. And in proposing high-minded anti-rape laws unaccompanied by political and judicial reform, the UPA government is dutifully fulfilling their prophecy. Our entrenched corruption, misogyny, hierarchy become a self-propogating excuse. No punishment, however high, for rape, stalking or acid attacks will be effective in a system that is broken. Legislation cannot be a substitute for genuine reform which requires legitimacy, enforcement and accountability. Or as Supreme Court lawyer Brinda Grover put it more simply at the Kolkata Literary Meet, Send 10 to 20 cops to jail this year and you can be sure they will start filing FIRs. Now that will work in India, right?
Ordinance on rape: All-or-nothing approach to Verma report is self-defeating

The women activists who are shouting betrayal should realise that the Verma report is a roadmap, or a journey, not the destination.
R Jagannathan, Feb 5, 2013 he cries of betrayal and anger emanating from womens groups over the governments ordinance to give effect to only a part of the Verma Committee Report on gender justice are only to be expected.
change laws, societal mindsets, the police, and the system of discrimination against women in 30 days, now youd better deliver all that we want in the next 30. This may be an oversimplification, but the fact is large sections of the Verma report should only be seen as a vision document for direction rather than an action plan for immediate implementation. Large tracts of the report constitute a passionate lecture on the evils of patriarchy rather than being grounded in Indian realities. The hi-falutin recommendations full of quotes from foreign scholars takes no note whatsoever of the current capabilities of the Indian state, making implementation of some of the more far-reaching proposals almost impossible.
However, part of the fault lies with the activists themselves. The government can be accused of trying to pretend it is moving in the right direction by cherry-picking the Verma recommendations it likes, but not for doing the wrong things. Doing some things that needed to be done is hardly a reason for sharp criticism. The real problem is that the activists behind the report assume that implementing the report is going to solve most issues of gender injustice in India. And they want it now, never mind who feels excluded from the discussion, or what the impact will be on sections that dont relate to gender justice. In fact, the sum total of the arguments given by the activist groups can be stated simply: We worked our butts off to give you a framework to
The Verma recommendations can be classified into five broad slots: (1) those involving changes to the law, (2) those involving reform that go beyond gender issues, (3) those that call for no changes in the law but for rigorous implementation of existing law, (4) attempting broader changes is social attitudes and mindsets to eliminate patriarchy, (5) proposals on superfluous things that may be nice to have, but are little more than symbolic. In category 1 are all the changes proposed in the government ordinance, where marital rape has been omitted; in category 2 are changes in the Armed Forces Special Powers Act, changes to the Representation of People Act and police reforms that actually go beyond just gender; category 3 involves the actual infrastructure and attitudes for the delivery of gender justice
(police sensitisation, judiciary sensitisation, creation of fast-track courts, etc); and category 4 involves changes in parenting and schooling of children so that children are raised without gender biases. The fifth category includes ideas like a separate bill of rights for women, street lighting, allowing more hawker zones, etc. The mistake the women activists are making is the same as that made by the Lokpal agitationists of 2011-12. The Anna movement offered the Jan Lokpal Bill as a panacea for corruption. It didnt finally get traction because it was so draconian, and there was opposition not only from politicians, but even some civil society groups. The Verma report has a strong urban bias resulting from the fact that most of its active contributors were modern city-bred young women and men. The report is out of touch with the lives Indians really lead in small towns and villages. The report thus faces the danger of being consigned to the same place as the Jan Lokpal Bill. Now, let us consider the big objections being raised to the governments ordinance and general approach to the issue. Marital rape: Activists and feminists are right to flag non-consensual marital sex as equivalent to rape, but the government is right to not rush into this making this change immediately. It is all right to define this act as rape, but the remedies probably need to be more nuanced than in the case of rape. For three reasons. One, equating non-consensual marital sex assaults with any other rape means the punishments have to be the same. This is fine as long as the woman is willing to consider breakdown of marriage as an acceptable byproduct. But what if she is not? Which marriage can survive a seven-year (minimum) jail term for the man for marital rape? Two, what happens in cases where the man is the only bread-winner in a case involving marital rape? Three, the question of punishment for marital rape needs both calibration and better delibera-
tion since it could impact the whole family, and not just the accused man. It may end up creating unintended victims. AFSPA: The Verma recommendation that rape by armymen should be tried under civil laws makes sense, but the Armed Forces Special Powers Act has to be seen not only as an instrument for hiding gender violence, but human rights in general. The AFSPA applies only in zones of conflict, and the army, which is the one paying the price in blood in these areas, has to be taken along while making this change. The AFSPA needs change to incorporate strong provisions and remedies against human rights violations, and not just rape. AFSPA is not merely a gender issue. Police reform: Theres little doubt that police reform is very critical for better gender safety and justice. But there are three issues here none of which can be addressed by the centre alone. Law and order is a state subject, and hence police reform has to be done at the state level. Despite several interventions by even the Supreme Court, the states have been reluctant to reform. Secondly, police reform which means freeing the police from the vice-like grip of politicians is vital not only for gender justice, but justice in general. It isnt as if the police are beastly only to women. The aam aadmi gets little help from the policeman, unless he can show real political clout. Thirdly, most changes in the polices attitude to women and rape involve implementing the law, and not writing new ones. Gender-sensitisation does not need legislation, but consistent implementation of the right protocols and training. This is a different challenge from merely changing the law which is the easy part. The issue of police reform is not something that will happen without a great buildup of public pressure, and for this womens groups have to align themselves with other civil society groups to ensure it happens. Political reform: The move to debar politicians from contesting elections if the courts take
cognisance of rape charges (or other heinous crimes) is unlikely to find political support. This is not a gender issue alone, even though Verma may have made bold suggestions in this regard.
Bill of rights: There is no case for a separate Womens Bill of Rights. For a report that draws so heavily from the universal declaration of human rights and constitutionalism and republicanism, the Verma Committee had no business trying to pretend that women need a separate bill of rights. If human rights are not good enough for women, they are not good enough for men too. The real problem is this: the capacity of the Indian system to deliver justice to anyone is suspect. If you think of the humble policeman manning the remote chowki, what are the chances that he will be gender sensitive, leave alone equipped to deal with a larger list of crimes against women, including marital rape?
Womens groups need to align with other forces to pressure politicians on change instead of pretending that this is only a gender issue. Systemic change: The changes we need to see in society to move towards gender equality involve better parenting, better schooling, and creating an infrastructure for counselling and support, both for victims of sexual assault and discrimination and the victimisers. These are long-term programmes that need to be taken up separately and continuously, both at the centre and states.
The activists who are now shouting betrayal should, instead, be prepared to continue the debate and public discourse indefinitely till society is more willing to implement the change they would like to see. The Verma Committee Report is a journey, not the destination. By prematurely rubbishing the governments tentative steps to change the law, the activists are in danger of making the good the enemy of the best. Society moves forward by choosing the better of two options, and not necessarily by choosing the best which, in any case, is a matter of opinion.
Ordinance keeps up momentum, cherry-picks from Verma report

The government has shown commendable alacrity in getting off the blocks by drafting an ordinance to amend criminal laws to penalise sexual assaults. But the job is still only half done.
Venky Vembu, Feb 2, 2013 he Union Cabinet has responded with uncharacteristic alacrity to operationalise some of the critical recommendations of the Justice JS Verma Committee in respect of amendments to the criminal law in the wake of the Delhi gang-rape horror of December.
At one level, the government has gone beyond the recommendation of the Verma Committee by providing for death for rapists in the rarest of rare cases. The Verma Committee had actively considered the demand for death for rapists, but had rejected it, citing the ongoing debate on the demerits of the death penalty as a deterrent force. The Committee had, however, noted that in the event of a rape-murder (of the sort that has bestirred the government and civil society to act against widespread sexual assaults on women), the penal provision for murder would automatically consider the death penalty. Additionally, the ordinance is likely to enhance the maximum punishment for convicted rapists from the current seven years to 20 years or the rest of the rapists natural life. Just as strikingly, the ordinance seeks to criminalise sexual harassment to mean everything from groping to cat-calling to stalking. More broadly, the new law seeks to broaden the canvas for penal action, by replacing the word rape with sexual assault. To the extent that the government has begun the process of operationalising the far-sighted Verma Committee report, its labours are to be acknowledged, particularly given the apprehension that the government was less than earnest about implementing it. As CPI(M) Politburo member Brinda Karat observes (here), the deafening silence from official circles in the days following the submission of the Verma Committee report had lent credence to the suspicion that the government had set up the Committee only to take the heat off itself and buy itself some time. Perhaps that was the governments intention when it set up
Evidently to spike the growing criticism that the government was dragging its feet on the report, which virtually drew up a Bill of Rights for women, the Cabinet has decided to promulgate an Ordinance incorporating amendments to the Indian Penal Code, the Code of Criminal Procedure and the Evidence Act in order to enhance the punishment for sexual assault. The resort to the Ordinance route, rather than abiding by the due (and time-consuming) process of Parliamentary law-making, is perhaps intended to show the same sense of urgency that the Committee exhibited in drawing up its report, and to leverage the prevailing mood of the moment in the wake of the gang-rape and the countless instances of sexual assault that have been reported since then.
the committee at the height of the protests in the wake of the brutal gangrape in Delhi but did not provide even the minimum required infrastructural support to it, she adds. Karat cites the abysmal record of successive governments to act on specific instances of sexual abuse, including child sexual abuse. Indicatively, it took 18 years for the legislation on child sexual abuse to be adopted and the legislation on prevention of sexual harassment at the workplace took 15 years (after a landmark Supreme Court judgement) to become a Bill, which is still held up in the Rajya Sabha. By opting for the Ordinance route, the government has certainly gotten off the blocks a lot faster. It will become law as soon as the President signs and promulgates it, but it still needs to be ratified by Parliament within six months. Yet, for all the appreciable urgency that the government has manifested, it appears to have merely gone after the low hanging fruit of the recommendations of the Verma Committee report. There is nothing to suggest in the governments ordinance provision that it is just as earnest about addressing the more contentious aspects of the recommendations such as marital rape or the provision to criminalise sexual assault by members of the armed forces by stripping them of the immunity under the Armed Forces (Special Powers) Act or the legal irrevalence of khap panchayat verdicts.
The Verma Committee report, as Firstpost had acknowledged here, provided all-seeing, 360-degree view of the cultural and social and administrative landscape in which sexual assaults (on women, but also against homosexuals and transgenders) occur. It also went to the roots of the problem of patriarchy that underlies prevailing social attitudes towards women, which create an enabling atmosphere for crimes to occur. To cherry-pick from the reports recommendations, based on the expedience of the moment or to avoid the more contentious and unpopular aspects of the complex issue, does no justice to the labours of the Verma Committee. Admittedly, those require more long-term interventions, through education and social sensitisation channels. But the longer the government delays addressing them, the less likely are they to be taken up with earnestness, particularly if the outrage of the moment (following the gangrape) dissipates, as it inevitably will. A job well-begun is half done. In that sense, the government has shown uncharacteristic, but commendable, alacrity in getting off the blocks by coming up with an ordinance that addresses some of the key recommendations of the Verma Committee. But the job is still only half done. The government must channel the same diligence and urgency in taking up the more controversial provisions of the report and demonstrate that it has the political will to see them them through.
has been rejected: Chidambaram

Asserting that none of the Justice Verma Committee recommendations have been rejected, the government today said the ordinance on sexual violence against women was promulgated to meet the universal demand for a law.
PTI, Feb 4, 2013 ew Delhi: Asserting that none of the Justice Verma Committee recommendations have been rejected, the government today said the ordinance on sexual violence against women was promulgated to meet the universal demand for a law at the earlier based on the broadest consensus available at the moment.
No Verma panel suggestion
The government hopes stringent provisions in the ordinance will have a deterrent effect on potential criminals till a new law is enacted by Parliament, Chidambaram told reporters here. President Pranab Mukherjee gave his assent to the ordinance yesterday. The bill will reflect the broadest possible consensus on imperatives and urgent need to have an effective law to protect women and to punish the guilty, Chidambaram said. The Finance Minister, who heads the Group of Ministers on Media, rejected the view that the government had acted in a hurry on the ordinance issue and said the measure will have a deter criminals and that there was a need for promulgating it. We are dealing with a grave issue. I appeal to everyone to deal with it with utmost seriousness and sensitivity. I appeal to everyone to respect the legislative process enshrined in the Constitution, Chidambaram said. Asked about demands for amending the Juvenile Justice Act to bring down the age limit of the offender, the minister said a consensus would have to be arrived at on it and that would require a separate bill. He said there is no consensus yet on demands for amending Armed Forces Special Powers Act (AFSPA).
Finance Minister P Chidambaram said the ordinance will act as a deterrent to criminals and maintained that though all recommendations of the Verma Committee have not been incorporated in it, no suggestion of the panel has been rejected. He said a bill on the issue would come up for discussion in Parliament and a legislation passed after reaching the broadest possible consensus.
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Will The Justice Verma Report: Change India?

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Will The Justice Verma Report: Change India?

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Will the justice Verma report

A record report in record time

Is the Verma report implementable?

The anti-rape ordinance

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A record report in record time

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The key recommendations of

the Justice Verma Report

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We had to offer practical solutions, set a precedent

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At 80 Im impatient, govt must understand

impatience of youth: JS Verma

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Why Justice Verma Committee blames Delhi cops, public, govt

rather than MPs

Why its time to listen to Justice Verma

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Is the Verma report implementable?

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Justice Verma panel shows the way;

now comes the hard part

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launches assault on patriarchy itself

Justice Verma extends brief,

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Why India doesnt need to change its rape law

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Verma committee returns focus on

police reforms, experts divided

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Vermas gender Utopia:

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bender is Project 2030

No silver bullet: Vermas gender

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Dear politicians, make the

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Kiran Bedi calls for third uprising

to implement Verma report

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Will Justice JS Verma join the

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Verma reports big miss:

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Verma committee report:

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Justice Verma should have demanded

more time, resources

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The anti-rape ordinance

Copyright 2012 Firstpost

anti-rape ordinance is a sham

Not in India: Why the

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Ordinance on rape: All-or-nothing approach to Verma report is self-defeating

Copyright 2012 Firstpost

Ordinance keeps up momentum, cherry-picks from Verma report

Copyright 2012 Firstpost