THE BIG CHANGES IN RAPE LAW

Rape, as a clearly defined offence, was introduced in the Indian Penal Code in 1860

The Criminal Law (Second Amendment) Act of 1983 made it mandatory for courts to assume the absence of consent if the victim says so. It made disclosing the victim’s identity a punishable offence

The outcry following the December 2012 Nirbhaya gangrape case led to the passing of the Criminal Law (Amendment) Act, 2013. It widened the definition of rape and made it non-bailable, increased jail terms in most sexual assault cases and provided for the death penalty in rape cases that caused death of the victim or left the survivor in a vegetative state. Stalking, voyeurism and acid attacks were made punishable offences The 2013 law defined as offences the use of unwelcome physical contact, words or gestures, demand or request for sexual favours, showing porn against a woman’s will or making sexual remarks

The 2013 Act makes a police officer refusing to file an FIR liable for imprisonment for up to one year or a fine or both. A rape case cannot be dismissed even if the doctor says that no rape took place

The abduction, rape and murder of an eight-year-old girl in Kathua, J&K, in January 2018 was followed by the passing of the Criminal Law (Amendment) Act, 2018. It provided for the death penalty for the rape of girls under 12 years

In August 2019, the POCSO Act was amended, introducing the death penalty for the non-homicide offence of penetrative sexual assault on children

After the gangrape-murder of a young veterinarian near Hyderabad on November 27, 2019, the Andhra Pradesh assembly passed the Andhra Pradesh Criminal Law (Amendment) Act, 2019, to award the death penalty to convicts in rape cases within 21 days