Is India’s police lagging?
Even serious crimes like rape are punished slowly by Indian police. The NCRB’s most recent report has revealed this. The report states that India’s rape conviction rate is only 27.4%। Simplely, only 27.4 out of 100 rape cases result in a punishment for rapists. As compared to 2013, the punishment rate for 2022 has not changed much। Even in 2013, only 27.1% of rape cases were found guilty.
After the Nirbhaya gangrape in 2012, there was a lot of debate across the country about giving the rapists immediate punishment। Also, there was talk of establishing a different system to facilitate a quick trial and punishment of the rape accused, but after nine years, everything turned out to be a sham.
Rape, a serious crime, carries a punishment that ranges from life in prison to death
Rape has been considered a serious offense. India reports 122 rape cases per day, according to National Crime Records Bureau, 2022. According to the same report, rape accounted for 7.1% of women’s crimes.
Rajasthan is the state with the highest number of rape incidents reported. It includes Uttar Pradesh and Madhya Pradesh in addition to Rajasthan. NCRB reports 5408 rape cases in Rajasthan, 3692 in Uttar Pradesh, and 3046 in Madhya Pradesh in 2022.
Indian Penal Code offers punishments for rapists ranging from death to life imprisonment. People who are found guilty of rape are typically sentenced to up to seven years in prison.
When a minor is raped, the court sentences the culprits to prison, ranging from ten years to life. In the most uncommon rape cases, there is also a death penalty option.
Rape cases increased in the last 10 years, punishment rate remained same
In the year 2012, 24,923 cases of rape were registered. The Nirbhaya gangrape incident that happened this year shook the entire country. There was a lot of criticism of the government regarding the rate of punishment in rape cases. This year the conviction rate in rape cases was 24 percent. The police had filed charge sheets only in 96 percent of the cases.
There was some improvement in the conviction rate figures in 2013. This year 33707 cases of rape were registered. Police filed charge sheets in 95.4 percent of rape cases. According to government data, the conviction rate in rape cases this year was 27.1 percent.
If we talk about 2022, this year 44785 new cases of rape were reported. The police were able to file charge sheets only in 77 percent of the cases. The conviction rate also remained at 27.4 percent.
This figure is worse than in 2021. In 2021, 46127 cases of rape were reported. Police had filed chargesheets in 80 percent of the cases and the conviction rate this year was 28 percent.
Rajasthan on top in rape cases
According to NCRB, maximum cases of rape have been registered in Rajasthan. 5399 cases of rape have been registered in Rajasthan. 3690 cases have been reported in Uttar Pradesh, 3029 in Madhya Pradesh, 2904 in Maharashtra, 1787 in Haryana and 1464 in Odisha.
The least number of rape cases have been registered in Nagaland at 7 and Mizoram at 14. The highest number of rape cases (1212) have been reported in the Union Territory of Delhi.
Why is the police lax in providing punishment?
In India, the responsibility of providing punishment in cases like rape rests on the police and the state. In rare cases, it is the police who register the case and record the statement of the victim. The responsibility of identifying the witness, arresting the accused, and conducting the trial is also on the police.
In such a situation, the question arises that why is the police in India proving to be lax in punishing serious cases like rape?
Police lack a better mechanism
According to a Police officer, there is a complete process to get punishment in any case. A serious crime like rape requires quick punishment, for which a separate mechanism should be in place, this system is not available in any police force across the country.
officer says- In many rape cases, witnesses turn hostile, then what will the police do in the court? The police also do not have any special authority to monitor and protect witnesses. According to the officer, a reduction in the number of policemen is also a main reason for the delay in giving punishment.
In 2022, Union Minister of State for Home Nityanand Rai said that the sanctioned strength of police across the country is 26 lakh 23 thousand, but at present only 20 lakh 91 thousand posts have been filled. If this figure is to be believed, the posts of more than 5 lakh policemen are vacant across the country.
After the Nirbhaya gangrape, the central government formed a committee under the chairmanship of retired Chief Justice JS Verma. In its 8000-page report, this committee said that a separate arrangement should be made for investigation and trial in rape cases.
Time of trial not fixed in rape case
According to Supreme Court lawyer Ketan Chaudhary, the time of trial is not fixed even in a case like rape. If the time of trial is fixed after the case is registered, then the pressure on the police will increase and the case will accelerate. Ketan Chaudhary says that even after several charge frames, the accused goes to another court. Many times, even the charge sheet is stayed by the higher court, which affects the trial.
Apart from this, the trend of date after date is also seen in the hearing of rape cases. Due to all these reasons, witnesses often turn hostile and the accused goes free after getting the benefit of the doubt.
According to Ketan Chaudhary, if the conviction rate in rape cases has to be improved, then first of all the process will have to be made strict. Ensuring that the accused does not get the benefit of the doubt
According to Ketan Chaudhary, if the conviction rate in rape cases has to be improved, then first of all the process will have to be made strict. It has to be ensured that the accused does not get the benefit of the doubt.
