NEW DELHI: Supreme Court Monday sought Centre’s response to a PIL by a women lawyers’ association demanding a pan-India safety and security mechanism for protection of women and children from sexual assaults, which, it said, is rising despite stringent laws and repeated interventions from SC.
The contours, width and ambit of the demands in the PIL by SC Women Lawyers’ Association was extremely broad and included mandatory chemical castration of convicted rapists, installation of street lights and CCTVs at every nook and corner, martial art training for women and girls for self-defence, ban on free pornography, maintaining a national database of sexual offenders, and no bail to those accused of sexual assault till commencement of trial.
A bench of Justices Surya Kant and Ujjal Bhuyan issued notice after hearing brief arguments from senior advocate Mahalakshmi Pavani, but said the expanse of reliefs sought by the PIL was so broad that the apex court may find it difficult to direct their implementation.
“One of the prayers is to frame a guideline for social behaviour in public transports, which appears to be the need of the hour given the obnoxious attitude and activities of certain passengers, even inside aircraft. The behaviour of travellers on trains, buses and other public transport must be regulated so as not to offend or harass anyone, especially women and children,” the bench said.
From ‘Nirbhaya’ to ‘Abhaya’, and to RG Kar incident, cases relating to sexual assault of women and children continue to hit the headlines, Pavani said. She added that there should be prescribed punishment for journalists who name and shame victims in their reports, and argued that rape survivors must not be subjected to humiliating questioning during cross-examinations before courts.
The petitioner said the court should direct ready access to National Database on Sexual Offenders, maintained by National Crime Records Bureau, to enable them to take safety measures against repeat sexual offenders and convicted rapists.
Turning to police officers, the association said they must be trained to handle a rape survivor and conduct themselves with sensitivity while recording her statement on the alleged crime. Police personnel misusing powers while dealing with a rape survivor must be visited with penal action or disciplinary proceedings.
