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Introduction

The global campaign for elimination of offences against women, in the recent years indicates
the enormity as well as the seriousness of the atrocities committed against women that are
being witnessed the word over is an indication of this fact. Changes in life style living
standards disparity in economic growth due to this urbanization and changes in social ethos
and lack of concern for moral values contribute to a violent approach and tendencies towards
women, which has resulted in an increase in crime against women.

Crime against women increases day by day in India rape takes place once in every 29
minutes, sexual harassment in every 53 minutes, molestation in every15 minutes, cruelty by
husband or relatives in every 9 minutes and dowry death every 77 minute this is the situation
in India and the situation is becoming worse day by day, more than 32000 murders, 19,000
rapes, 7500 dowry deaths and 36500 molestation cases are the violent crimes reported in
India in 2006 against women. There are many instances of crime especially against women
go unreported in India. These are figures released by the National Crime Records Bureau
recently. So a revaluation of the crimes against the women for which the Indian Penal Code
provides talk about the "fair sex" not getting a fair deal is now common. Crime against
women traditionally includes rape, kidnapping and abduction, dowry death, torture,
molestation, sexual harassment, importation of girls, cases under the Immoral Traffic
(Prevention) Act, Sati Prevention Act, Dowry Prohibition Act, and Indecent Representation
of Women (Prevention) Act. But after having so many laws why are the women being still
subjected to cruelty and in so great proportion. The most important penal statute i.e. Indian
Penal Code (IPC) has so many provisions regarding offences to women but still crimes are
being committed which are proving to be non-addressable by the laws. Hence some
revaluation or steps need to be taken which will cater to this menace.

The provision of law relating to women should also have been reviewed and amended
periodically according to the emerging needs of the society. We cannot say that our
jurisprudence is not so developed to accept laws for the suggestions related to new type of
offences but at this point of time we should not forget that jurisprudence is the science of law
and it is the tendency of science to go against the existing prevalent standards and beliefs of
society and the result of this difference of opinion is that ultimately society has to accept the
changes.

  


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At present we cannot say that such types of offences (offences where a woman is
involved in the act of crime against another woman) are not prevalent in Indian society or that
there is no such debate about it in the society. This is not a valid argument because law is
there not only to check the existing crimes in the society but also to work as deterrent
measure for the offenses which are likely to occur in future due to modernization and
expanding views of the personal liberty of individuals. In this scenario we should consider
the judgment of Delhi High Court in the ³|
  ´ case where honorable High Court
recognizes the modern tendency of homosexuality in the Indian society. According to the
same view we should make preventive laws for the offences related to homosexuality and
gender neutral concept of rape.

Hence a need is badly felt to revaluate the crimes and offences against the women
given in IPC due to the changing view of societal morality and the expanding view of
individual liberty and the laws related to offences against women need to be overhauled
according to the modern and prevalent circumstances in society by introducing some
offences not given or increasing the punishment of some or may be redefining some of
the offences by some new facets which may have evolved in the recent past because not
many amendments have been done in the IPC since its inception in 1860.

Sexual Offences

Sexual harassment

Sexual Harassment is harassment of a sexual nature; typically in the workplace or other

setting where raising objections or refusing may have negative consequences. Sometimes,
well intended gestures or remarks of friendship and affection may also be received as
harassment. It comes in a multitude of forms. It can occur by physical contact or mere words.
It can be in the form of a threat, an offer or a promise. It may take place away from the
immediate work setting or during business trips, work-oriented social events as well as on the
job. It can occur in environment completely separate from any organizationally affiliated
activity.1 Our Apex Court has defined sexual harassment to include ³such unwelcome
sexually determined behaviour (whether directly or by implication) as:

 
1
Aruna Goel, Manvinder Kaur and Ameer Sultana x
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(Deep and Deep Publications Private Limited, New Delhi, 2006)

  


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(a) Physical contact and advances;
(b)Demand or request for sexual favors;
(c) Sexually-colored remarks
(d)Showing pornography;
(e) Any other unwelcome physical, verbal, non-verbal contact of sexual nature.2

The proposed Sexual Harassment of the Women at the Workplace (Prevention and
Redressal) Bill, 2004 defines sexual harassment to mean ³any unwelcome sexually
determined conduct whether physical, verbal or non-verbal, including but not limited to
sexual advances, demands, or requests for sexual favours, molestation, sexually
nuances gestures, comments, remarks or jokes either verbal, textual, graphic or
electronic.3 This particular definition is based upon the judgement of the Supreme
Court in Vishakha case.

It is noted that though the Indian Penal Code did not incorporated the term 'sexual
harassment', it tried to address the offence in various sections. But these penal sections
sometimes prove insufficient to punish the culprit who performs not as like as the
things had been in some two hundred years ago. So, there were positive efforts to
address offences against women, including sexual harassment, separately and more
definitely. Therefore section 354 of IPC which deals with outraging the modesty of a
woman has to incorporate the term µsexual harassment¶ which is an offence that is
committed by not coming with actual physical contact but certainly potent to fully rage
and destroy the modesty of a woman.

Justice Bachawat in a case4 stated that ³the essence of a woman¶s modesty is her sex.
The modesty of an adult female is writ large on her body. Young or old, intelligent or
imbecile, awake or sleeping, the woman possesses modesty capable of being outraged.5

It is suggested that for the purpose of sexual harassment, the below given definition
should be taken for all purposes of sexual harassment.

    
2
       xAIR 1997 SC 3011.
3
Aruna Goel, Manvinder Kaur and Ameer Sultana x
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(Deep and Deep Publications Private Limited, New Delhi, 2006)
4
   !"  AIR 1967 SC 63.
5
PSA Pillaix
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Sexual Harassment.

Whoever, intending to insult the modesty of any woman, utters any word, makes any
sound or gesture, exhibits any object or molests intending that such word, act or sound
shall be heard, or that such gesture or object shall be seen, by such woman, or intrudes
upon the privacy of such woman, shall be punished with imprisonment which shall not
be less than three years and may extend to ten years and shall also be liable to fine.

In this definition molestation means an act of intimidation or violence to subject a

woman to unwanted or improper sexual advances or activity or the act of tormenting by
continued persistent attacks and criticism, whether sexual or otherwise.

Sometimes the sexual harassment cross all the limits and if because of this any girl
commit suicide than it should be consider as a grave offence and the harasser should get
the harshest possible punishment and this type of provisions are demand of the time so
that we have an effective law for dealing with the cases like Ruchika Girhotra suicide
case. For this purpose there should a provision in the IPC which provide punishment for
the offence of ³Death of a woman as a direct consequence of sexual harassment´
the provision for this could be that -

³If a woman is forced to commit suicide as a direct consequence of somebody's

wilful dishonour, sexual harassment, assault or use of criminal force, then the
offender shall be punished with an imprisonment of not less than ten years which
may extend up to life imprisonment and shall also be liable to fine.

Rape:

In the case of Bodhisattva Gaautam v. Subhra Chakraborty, (1996) 1 SCC 490, SC said
that
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Rape is the gravest offence which can be committed by anyone against the woman. Indian
laws which deals with such kind of cases are archaic in nature and should be amended

  


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according to the need of modern time. For the purpose of identifying the flaws in the existing
,
provisions of rape laws we focused on the two cases       &   
  ".7
In the case     (³Sakshi´), the Supreme Court was called upon to
decide whether, the phrase ³penetration´ occurring in the definition of rape under section 375
IPC, means only ³penile penetration´ or it also means penetration by an object or by any
other part of body including finger etc. 8
The petitioners drew attention of the Supreme Court to the observations of a feminist
writer ± activist Susan Brownmiller (Against Our Will, 1986) that ³««««.in rape«..the
intent is not merely to µtake¶ but to humiliate and degrade«««.sexual assault in our day
and age is hardly restricted to forced genital copulation, nor is it exclusively a male on female
offence´. Though the petitioner in Sakshi prayed for issuance of a writ in the nature of a
declaration or any other appropriate writ or direction declaring, inter alia, that ³sexual
intercourse´ as contained in section 375 of IPC shall include all form of penetration such as
penile/vaginal penetration and object/ vaginal penetration, the prayer, in effect was to
degender the offence of rape.
The narrow understanding and application of rape under section 375/376 of IPC
only to the cases of penile/ vaginal penetration runs contrary to the existing contemporary
understanding of rape as an intent to humiliate, violate and degrade a woman or child
sexually and, therefore, adversely affects the sexual integrity and autonomy of woman and
children in violation of Art. 21 of the Constitution.
Although majority of rapes are committed by men, women can also commit the offence
of rape because the basic concept of rape lies in the fact that in rape one person fulfills his
sexual desires without the consent of another. It would be wrong therefore to stick to the age
old concept of rape as ³a man on woman´.9
Another important case where the nature of rape and its ingredients are thoroughly
discussed in the proceedings of the court is the case of  &          ". in this
case two questions of our concern are involved primary question is Can a woman be punished

 
6
2004 Cr.LJ 2881
7
AIR 2006SC2639
8
By implication it required addressing the issue of gender bias in rape laws in india in so far as the requirement
of penile penetration means rape is a man on woman act.
9
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for gang rape? Another question of our concern is Can a woman act as abettor for the offence
of rape?
In the answer of first question court responded in negative but for the second question
supreme kept the door ajar holding that ³If in law it is permissible and the facts warrant such
a course to be adopted, it is for the concerned court to act in accordance with the law´ and
expressed no opinion on the issue.
In Priya Patel case the Supreme Court refused to answer the question of a woman¶s
guilt as an abettor in a rape committed by a man where the woman has ³Intentionally Aided´
the man in ghastly offence. It left the question of woman¶s guilt as an abettor to be decided
by the trail court. Although the existing provision related to the abetment is gender neutral in
its nature but court refused to give any answer on this point and leave this question on the
discretion and understanding of the trail court.
In the case of Priya Patel the M.P. high Court had opined that though a woman cannot
commit rape, but if a woman facilitates the act of rape, explanation-I to section 376(2) IPC,
comes into operation and she can be prosecuted for gang rape.
In this regard it is important to note that explanation ±I to section 376(2) IPC, is gender ±
neutral and the situation which arose in  &     must have been envisaged by the law
makers while they included this explanation in the scheme of IPC. Also explanation ±I to
section 376(2) is in        with section 34 IPC, which lays down a general rule of
liability where two or more persons have joined together to commit an offence´ I furtherance
of common intention of them all´. Therefore, the explanations of section 34 IPC put forth by
the Supreme Court may be taken into consideration for understanding the scope and ambit of
explanation ±I to section 376(2) IPC. Thus even physical incapacity is in no way an
impediment to fixing liability with the aid of section 34 IPC, if the requirements of the
provision are met with.
In Priya Patel, it is immaterial whether the accused specifically had the intention to rape.
The fact that she acted in a manner which facilitated the commission of offence of rape is the
only requirement to bring her case under section 376(2) (g) IPC. Explanation ± I to this
section cannot be and should not be understood to intend something different.
In this regard another important case comes in front of trail court of Delhi,    
"  2   +/this case also involves same kind of question related to abetment of rape by
a woman .

 
10
Sessions case No. 87/06, decided by V.K. Bansal, Addl. Sessions Judge, New Delhi, on 05 -12-2007.

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In this casethe learned session¶s judge after carefully pursuing all the material placed
before him on record convicted Meena Devi under the existing sections of IPC and holding
her guilty for abetting the offence of rape.
Because of the different opinions of court in the above mentioned cases it is
important to give a clear cut picture on the issue that whether a woman can be convict for the
offence of rape, abetment of rape and can a women held liable for the offence of gang rape ?
To answer all these questions following reforms should be take place so that a concrete
law on this subject comes in to existence.

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Marital rape:

Sexual violence in marriage can take a broad range of forms, including coerced sexual
contact, sexual harassment or sexual degradation of the victim in front of others, and forced
penetration. This type of sexual contact between spouses termed as marital rape.

³In the act of marital rape the rapist seizes control of the victim¶s body, violating the victim¶s
sense of autonomy. The sense of disempowerment is immense. Another person has taken
charge of one¶s body, manipulating it like a puppet, reducing the victim to an object, a prop
in that man¶s world.´ Marital rape is totally against the women¶s sense of ownership of their
body. Marital rape literally means a forcible seizure. Marital rape is seldom given the
legitimacy or validity of other forms of sexual violence, but it can be just as devastating.
What sets marital rape apart is that the victim has to live with her rapist. Marital rape is
totally against the women¶s sense of ownership of their body. It gives mental as well as
physical trauma to a woman.
Sexism is at the heart of marital rape, just as it is at the heart of most forms of sexual
violence. The widespread idea that a husband has a right to sex, and has a right to use his
wife's body for this purpose makes it difficult for many in Indian culture to recognize sexual

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coercion in marriage. How can a husband be guilty of taking something that belongs to him?
Often the marriage vows are seen as giving contractual consent to sex. People may think of
marital rape as just a bedroom squabble: he wants sex, she's not in the mood, and he wins.

The basic problem related with the legalization of the marital rape is that after marriage it
will not possible that a husband rapes his wife this is just because the fact that ³giving the
consent for the purpose of marriage´ itself includes the consent for the sex in marriage but
after the passing of the Domestic Violence law the scenario has totally changed and now we
have enough reasons because this law justified that violence could not be justified on the
basis of consent. These changes make it now possible for husbands to be prosecuted for
marital rape should they proceed to have sex with their wives without their wives¶ consent. 11
The nature of marital rape is often extremely brutal and degrading, and may be connected
with other violent sexual abuses. To deal with the offence of marital rape a section should be
included in the scheme of IPC and which punish this offence and provided appropriate fine
and imprisonment for this grave offence against the woman.

Social Offences

Witch-Branding/Witch-Hunting -

Witch-hunting or branding is like an infectious disease and is slowly spreading to newer areas
where people tend to develop very strong superstitious beliefs and anything bad that might
befall these villagers like bad crop, diseases, sudden and unexplained death of someone in the
family, or drying of well tend to be considered the work of some evil µwitch'. Thus begins a
witch hunt to locate the person responsible. The accused women are subjected to extreme
torture both physical and mental. The helpless µwitches' are hounded and punished by being
stripped naked, paraded around the villages, their hair is burnt off or their heads tonsured,
their faces blackened, their noses cut off, their teeth pulled out (they are supposedly
defanged) so that they can no longer curse, they are whipped, they are branded, sometimes,
they are forced to eat human excreta and finally, they are put to death (the victim is hanged,
impaled, hacked, lynched or buried alive). In a majority of cases, the women have to suffer
silently as most are unable to reach out for help, given the lack of education and poverty. The

 
11
Elizabeth A. Archampong, -"     5 )6.  &  7  ) available on
www.theequalityeffect.com/pdfs/maritalrapeequalityghana.pdf'    /18/*8*/++(

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result is that they either have to flee the village leaving their house and land behind, or be
subjected to humiliation, torture and death at the hands of the villagers.

Statistics on witch-hunting crimes compiled by the National Crime Record Bureau (NCRB)
are a cause of concern. The NCRB reported that in 2008, 175 cases of witchcraft-related
murders were reported from different states of India. Jharkhand had the dubious distinction of
reporting 52 witchcraft-related murders, followed by Haryana, where the number was around
25, Andhra Pradesh and Orissa with 23 each, Madhya Pradesh with 17, Chhattisgarh with
15, Maharashtra with 11, West Bengal with 4 and Meghalaya with 3 deaths in 2008. These
are mostly conservative and underreported estimates. The real situation must therefore be
much worse.

Witch-Branding is one of the cruellest forms of crime and offence committed against a
woman especially in the rural areas and it is most surprising that there is no provision for it in
the IPC and no legislation in place to deal with this menace. A recent case in August, 2010 is
of one Kamla Bairwa, a dalit woman, after being dubbed as a µwitch' by fellow villagers, was
brutally thrashed by three men and two women at Jhalara village in Tonk district of
Rajasthan. They dragged her to a tree and tied her with it before thrashing her. In her
complaint, lodged at the Uniara police station, Kamla said the village residents, particularly
women, call her a witch, humiliate her and also beat her up. She feared that she would be
killed by the villagers. Another case is of a dalit couple (Saheedi Bhuiyan and Samanti
Bhuiyan) who were killed in Jorapur village in Palamu district of Jharkhand on March 11,
2010. The villagers suspected them of practicing witchcraft and many such other crimes have
been committed in the name of witch-branding.

Unfortunately, the existing laws have not been able to either tackle such vicious crimes or
create fear in the minds of perpetrators. The threat of punishment and conviction hasn't been
a deterrent since the perpetrators of the crime know that they will not be brought to book for
what will be seen as an incidence of mob fury. Sometimes, it is the knowledge that the state
will stand by them. Witch hunting in most cases constitutes an attempt to murder. But it is
because of lack of laws or rather toothless laws and their weak implementation that
specifically targets this practice.

herefore it is the need of the hour that stringent penal provisions are introduced in
IPC to deal with this social curse effectively. hus provisions should be introduced in

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the IPC to define and punish more severely the act of µwitch branding¶, its abetment
and people who claim to cure it as compared to normal acts of hurt and murder.

Conclusion

According to statistics published by the National Crime Records Bureau (NCRB) in 2002 a
total of 147,678 crimes against women were reported in 2002 compared with 143,795 during
2001. This represents an increase of 2.7% over the previous year and shows an increase of
12.3% over 1998. These NCRB figures record crimes specifically categorised as "Crimes
against Women", although women may additionally be the victims of other crimes, robbery,
murder etc. Therefore these statistics show that the crimes against women are all increasing
day by day and IPC should be reviewed to cater to this evil which is what is basically the aim
of report where some new offences like acid-attack and witch-branding has been added and
certain provisions like rape, sexual harassment and assault and cruelty have been thoroughly
looked upon while redefining some provision, enhancing the punishment of certain offences
and retaining some of them as they are in IPC.

Recommendations and suggestions have been made in offences wherein needed along with
the provision presented in the report by looking to introduce offences which have evolved in
recent times to which IPC talks nothing as it was made in 1860 and most importantly
enhancing punishment of offences which have far less punishment taking into account the
present context of tine so that it acts as a deterrent measure for the people and so less crimes
can be committed.

Therefore this paper is an attempt to basically look at the crimes against women and to
revaluate it keeping in mind the present context and to introduce some which have come up
in the recent time like acid attack and witch branding which are so important to be put in IPC
as it being the principle penal statute of the land has to have provisions to deal with it.

In the end it can be said that women have been the vulnerable class and so many crimes are
committed against them and IPC being the principle penal statute has to have stringent
provisions to deal with it and to punish the perpetrators so as to put an end to the now much
prevalent crimes against women.

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