The Indian Penal Code (IPC), which dates back to the British era, is being replaced by a bill that the Union government introduced in Parliament on Friday. It calls for tougher punishments for crimes against women, including the death penalty as the maximum penalty for the gang rape of a minor and the designation of the act of tricking a woman into having sexual relations under the false pretense of marriage or by promising inducements like a job or promotion as a separate offense.
The gang rape of a girl under the age of 18 is penalised under the proposed law, which is intended to replace IPC, by life in prison, which implies that the offender will remain behind bars for the remainder of their natural lives, a fine, “or with death.”
The IPC divides the rules pertaining to gang rape of children into two categories: when the victim is under 12 years old and when she is under 16 years old. The death penalty is the maximum penalty under IPC for gang rapes of girls under the age of 12, whereas life in prison is the maximum penalty for crimes against girls between the ages of 12 and 16.
Accused will be executed
The Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita Bill, 2023, eliminates these age divisions and stipulates that anyone found guilty of gang raping a minor will be executed along with all other participants in the act.
The proposed legislation has also designated a separate offense to penalize acts of seducing women into a sexual connection, and the offence is punished by a jail sentence of up to 10 years, according to Union home minister Amit Shah, who said it will be referred to a parliamentary panel for review.
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“Whoever, by deceptive means or by making by promise to marry to a woman without any intention of fulfilling the same, and has sexual intercourse with her, such sexual intercourse not amounting to the offence of rape, shall be punished with imprisonment of either description for a term which shall extend to ten years and shall also be liable to fine,” the bill’s section 69 reads.
Deceitful actions
According to the “explanation” of this clause, “deceitful means” includes making false promises of employment or advancement, inducing behavior, or getting married after hiding one’s identity.
The other rape and gang rape clauses have been kept in the new law with the same penalties. The 2023 bill maintains the same definitions and penalties for a number of additional crimes against women, including sexual harassment, molestation, voyeurism, and stalking.
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The proposed legislation raises the minimum age of the wife from 15 to 18 years in order to give the husband immunity from a prosecution of rape, carrying out the Supreme Court’s 2017 ruling. In 2017, the Supreme Court interfered with Section 375’s Exception 2, which shielded men from prosecution for rape if their wives were over 15 years old. The Supreme Court interpreted the exemption clause to mean that a wife cannot be less than 18 years old, as opposed to the IPC’s requirement of 15 years old.
Additionally, the measure repeals Section 377 of the IPC, which makes homosexuality a crime punishable by a life sentence. The action is inspired by a 2018 ruling by a Constitution bench of the Supreme Court that decriminalized gay sex between consenting individuals.
