Indian Courts Continue to Fail its Victims

A final year medical student of Manipal University hailing from Kerala was abducted on June 20, near MCOPS building, by three persons who came in an autorickshaw and later gang-raped her. The medical student, who had suffered a fracture in her leg received treatment at the Kasturba Hospital in Manipal and was discharged on July 4. This incident triggered massive protests by commoners, students and political authorities alike. A week after the abduction and gang-rape, the police cracked the case and arrested all three accused. The accused were Yogesh Poojary (30), Hariprasad Poojary (27) and Anand Panara (28). Yogesh and Hariprasad are autorickshaw drivers, while Anand does not have any permanent occupation. Two more persons, Balachandra, brother of Yogesh, and Harindra, brother of Hariprasad, who tried to destroy evidence in the case were also taken into custody.

The girl had initially refused to give a statement to the police as she was worried about being shunned by the society. However, just a few hours before her discharge, she gave a statement on the condition that her identity and statement should be kept a secret. The victim’s reluctance to file a police complaint sparked off rumours about the rapists having threatened her. The political parties, University authorities and the police were busy accusing each other thereby delaying the overall process. Presently, the three suspects are lodged in a Shimoga jail, while the other two who allegedly tampered with evidence are at the District Sub-Jail in Anjar. The hearing is scheduled for October 28, 2013. The victim wrote her final exams and returned to Kerala along with her parents. Though she is not returning to Manipal, she will have to be present in court to give her testimony once the proceedings begin.

The Indian legal system is such that the victim becomes helpless and has no choice but to get discouraged from reporting the crime. To begin with, there is no fear of law as the legal system has a lot of loopholes. The police are not always co-operative. Instead, they cause harassment to the victims and their families. The authoritative people indulge in blame games. Trials go on for years together with no assurance of justice. The victims may not even be alive by the time the verdict comes out. When rapes take place within the family, the members of the family discourage the victim from reporting the crime. There is no action taken unless there is immense media and public pressure. Victims are often blackmailed and sometimes even killed by their perpetrators. Wealthy people often influence the decisions of the concerned authorities and walk away scot-free. Definite and quick punishment for the offenders is not promised. The justice process is painfully slow and taxing. What’s worse is that the victims are held responsible for the ordeal they suffered. Naturally, rape victims in India are losing faith in the system.

Reports of rape continue to inundate the country’s newspapers daily. It is uncertain whether the reporting has increased or the number of attacks has risen. To respond to the upwelling public fury, the government has toughened the laws on sexual violence. The spiel of increasing cases, however, suggests that this society is yet to tackle the problem. Solid steps need to be taken to induce fear in the minds of potential rapists. The trial period should be fixed and justice should be given immediately. Same laws should be applied to all. There should be no disparity in judgement based on the age of the offender. Punishment should be decided based on the magnitude of the crime. People need to realize that everyone deserves the same amount of respect as an individual regardless of their gender. One should shudder at the thought of committing such a dreadful crime. Only then will the women of this country feel safe.