SC DECLINES PIL TO MAKE RAPE GENDERNEUTRAL

NEW DELHI : The Supreme Court on Monday refused to entertain a plea challenging the Constitutional validity of Section 375 of Indian Penal Code (IPC) which deals with rape on the ground that the provision is not gender-neutral. A bench headed by Chief Justice Ranjan Gogoi and Justice S K Kaul said the issue raised in the petition is a subject matter of the legislature’s domain. “The issue falls in the realm of the Parliament. We don’t want to say anything on it right now”, the bench said, while granting liberty to the petitioners to make a representation to the legislature. While Section 375 of the IPC deals with rape committed on a woman by a man, Section 376 lists out the punishment for the offence. The top court was hearing a petition filed by NGO Criminal Justice

Society of India, through advocate Ashima Mandla, contending that Section 375 violates Articles 14, 15 and 21 of the Constitution as it does not account for rape of men and Transgender persons.

Debabrata Deb works at Sati Tea Estate was abducted from his temporary residence at around 7.15 pm on Saturday evening. The kidnappers were carrying sophisticated weapons and had reportedly introduced themselves as members of Udoy Asom group of the outlawed Ulfa-independent faction, the police said. Security forces have swung into action, the police added.