Criminal Law (Amendment) Act 2013: Nirbhaya Act, Offenses, and Statutory Changes
A Brief History
While numerous criminal cases result in punishing offenders, some of the incidents lead to changes in the law. The Criminal Law (Amendment) Act 2013 is a regulation that was passed in India after a gang rape case and has impacted several statutes. In 2012, Jyoti Singh, a female physiotherapy student, and her male friend were attacked on a bus by six men. All of the perpetrators sexually assaulted Singh, and her companion was beaten up for trying to help her.
Singh was sexually violated by an iron rod, slapped, kicked, bitten, and left bleeding on the side of the road. Although her friend survived, Jyoti Singh passed away from massive internal injuries. Press in India could not release the victim’s name, and the public called her Nirbhaya. Jyoti Singh’s case has caused the adoption of The Criminal Law (Amendment) Act 2013 (CLAA-2013), also known as the Nirbhaya Act. The Criminal Law (Amendment) Act 2013 has influenced different statutes, introduced new offenses, and is utilized in court cases.
Changes to Statutes
The Nirbhaya Act has facilitated modifications in three regulations employed in India. In particular, the CLAA-2013 affected the Indian Penal Code (IPC), the Protection of Children from Sexual Offenses Act (PCSO), the Indian Evidence Act (IEA), and the Criminal Procedure Code (CPC). IPC provides rules regarding offenses and the punishment of crimes committed within the state. Some of the changes made to IPC concern disclosure of the identity of the victim, rape, acids, and sexual harassment.
EA specifies evidence acceptable in Indian courts and was altered to determine the absence of consent in rapes and the incapability of verbal communication. PCSO oversees offenses of sexual assault, sexual harassment, and pornography involving children and was adjusted by the CLAA-2013 regarding alternative punishment in violations involving minors. CPC is meant to consolidate criminal procedure in India and has changes concerning processes affecting women and individuals with disabilities. Notably, the CLAA-2013 has made the law against rape more stringent, ensured quicker trials, and advanced punishment for offenders convicted of sexual assaults against women. While most transformations were made in IPC, the Nirbhaya Act has impacted many statutes across India.
Offenses Introduced by the Act
Changes to regulations, the CLAA-2013 introduced several offenses. New specifications of crimes were included, which extended the definitions for lawbreaking incidents by including such terms as voyeurism, stalking, sexual harassment, and acid attack. Accordingly, the addition of the listed concepts was meant to describe each crime to broaden situations under which victims can be protected by law and offenders can receive appropriate punishments.
Voyeurism
One of the primary offenses introduced to Indian law by the Nirbhaya Act is voyeurism. The term has a French origin and refers to watching such activities of other people as engaging in sexual intercourse, bathing, or undressing without the subject’s consent. As a result of the CLAA-2013, the definition was amended to accommodate gender-specific regulations.
Nowadays, the crime of voyeurism involves any man who watches or captures the image of a woman who performs a private act and has not agreed to be observed. On their first conviction, penetrators are to be imprisoned for a period of one to three years and may be required to pay a fine. On subsequent convictions, offenders must be imprisoned for three to seven years and are liable to a fine. Accordingly, the Nirbhaya Act made voyeurism no longer gender-neutral, with men considered lawbreakers and women regarded as victims.
Stalking
The next type of crime introduced by the CLAA-2013 is stalking. Similar to voyeurism, stalking was modified to specify gender differences between penetrators and victims, but unlike the former, the latter was first employed in the Nirbhaya Act. Notably, the absence of visible harm caused by stalking often causes society to undermine the offense and may lead to victim-blaming.
Nonetheless, stalking can generate psychological, physical, social, and economic consequences for all engaged parties. Stalking can be divided into two kinds: offline, meaning physical, and online, referring to the use of the Internet. On the one hand, stalking involves a man who follows a woman. It repeatedly attempts to foster a personal interaction despite the woman’s apparent lack of interest.
On the other hand, lawbreaking happens when a male individual monitors a female person’s use of the Internet or any electronic communication. The punishment for first offenders is imprisonment for up to three years and incarceration for up to five years for subsequent convictions. Accordingly, stalking is a seemingly harmless crime that can have serious adverse outcomes for victims represented by women.
Sexual Harassment
Another offense introduced by the Nirbhaya Act is sexual harassment. The CLAA-2013 has changed the description of the crime to specify that only male individuals can commit the violation. Sexual harassment occurs when a man makes sexually colored statements, instigates unwelcome and expressive sexual overtures, demands sexual favors, or shows pornography against a woman’s consent.
A person convicted for the first offense of the listed four can be imprisoned for a year. For either of the other three violations, men can be punished with rigorous imprisonment for up to three years. Consequently, sexual harassment is a serious instance of lawbreaking and is not gender-neutral.
Acid Attack
The subsequent offense introduced by the CLAA-2013 involves harm caused by acids. The Nirbhaya Act defines an acid as any substance of acidic or corrosive character. It distinguishes between voluntarily causing damage by utilizing acid and willingly throwing or trying to throw acid.
In the first case, the penetrator can induce permanent or partial deformity, burns, or disfigurement to another person and can be punished with imprisonment for at least ten years. In the second instance, the offender is believed to have an intention to cause harm to the victim and can be placed in prison for five to seven years. Notably, unlike the above-examined violations, acid attacks are gender-neutral, and anyone can commit such a crime. Accordingly, using acids to injure someone is an offense that views both men and women as victims and offenders.
Case Laws
The Nirbhaya Act involves many cases concerning various types of crime specified in the regulation. For instance, records show an increase in voyeurism and stalking cases from 2014 to 2019 and suggest, for example, that only in 2019, women filed 8890 reports on voyeurism. However, not all incidents under CLAA-2013 seem to become case laws because the statute’s implementation has specific weaknesses.
For instance, the Nirbhaya Act expanded the definition of rape by including non-peno-vaginal penetrative acts to signal that the legal system would punish various forms of sexual violence against women. Nonetheless, one of the first incidents of such an offense acquitted the penetrator based on a poor understanding of consent, although the victim stated saying “no” multiple times.
In another case, a woman resolved to commit suicide due to being stalked, but the charges of stalking were not registered. Accordingly, India has many cases but insufficient case laws under the Nirbhaya Act because many incidents are not applicable under the regulation. The Criminal Law (Amendment) Act 2013 has led to closer attention to crimes against women, but it needs improvement in its usage in courts.
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