Following is the Report submitted by The Verma Committee .
The Committee was formed to look into crimes against women on Wednesday ruled against recommending the death penalty even in the rarest of the rare rape cases, and did not favour lowering the age of a juvenile from 18 to 16.
Essential pints.
No to Death Penalty.
Don’t allow army men to take cover under AFSPA.
“There is an imminent need to review the continuance of the AFSPA and AFSPA-like legal protocols in internal conflict areas as soon as possible,” it said. “This is necessary for determining the propriety of resorting to this legislation in the area(s) concerned.”
“According to the Working Group on Human Rights, the murder rate has declined consistently in India over the last 20 years despite the slowdown in the execution of death sentences since 1980. Hence we do take note of the argument that introduction of death penalty for rape may not have a deterrent effect,” the Committee recommended.
The Committee also said that in the proposed Criminal Law Amendment Bill, 2012, the minimum sentence for punishment for rape should be enhanced to a minimum of 10 years (currently it is 7 years) with maximum punishment being life imprisonment.
The Committee said castration would be unconstitutional and inconsistent with basic human rights treaties to expose any citizen without their consent to potentially dangerous medical side effects.
On the issue of reducing the age of a juvenile from 18 to 16, Mr. Verma said: “Assuming that a person at the age of 16 is sent to life imprisonment, he would be released sometimes in the mid-30s. There is little assurance that the convict would emerge a reformed person.”
The Committee has criticised lack of reformatory and rehabilitation policies in jails and juvenile homes.
“Personnel guilty of sexual offences in conflict areas should be tried under ordinary criminal law”
Text of the Verma Committe(former chief justice of India Jagdish Sharan Verma)
”
21. It is an admitted fact that women in India have
suffered in various aspects of life and physical
health, mental well-being, bodily integrity and
safety, social relations, political empowerment,
education and knowledge, domestic work and
non-market care, paid work and other projects,
shelter and environment, mobility, leisure
activities, time autonomy, respect, religion, and if
we may add, self-esteem / self-autonomy. We are
of the opinion that Indian women have
substantially suffered on most of these counts as a
consequence of which the de facto equality
guaranteed by the Constitution has not become a
reality for them.
. It is shocking to note that even after the recent
horrific incident of gang rape, many political
leaders, including members of Parliament/State
legislatures, spiritual gurus with large followings
and other eminent persons have been making
statements reinforcing the gender bias. Some have
even blamed the victim for having facilitated the
rape by her own behaviour. Some of the worst
examples are:
(i) Shri Anisur Rahman (Communist Party of
India (Marxist) – West Bengal): “We have
told the chief minister in the assembly that the
government will pay money to compensate rape
victims. What is your fee? If you are raped, what
will be your fee?”
(ii) Shri Asaram Bapu: “Only 5-6 people are not
the culprits. The victim is as guilty as her
rapists… She should have called the culprits
brothers and begged before them to stop… This
could have saved her dignity and life. Can one
hand clap? I don’t think so,”
http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/realtime/justice_js_verma_committee_report.pdf
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