New Delhi: Union Ministers P Chidambaram and Manish Tewari spoke to the media today on the ordinance onsexual assault that was signed by President Pranab Mukherjee over the weekend. (Read: New anti-rape legislation)
Highlights of the press conference:
- We are dealingwith a grave issue, which has to be dealt with utmost seriousness.
- It is the obligation upon the government to introduce the bill, replace the ordinance and get it replaced before six week period.
- If we took theroute of a bill, the changes in law will take place only after the passage ofthe bill.
- Since there is auniversal demand that the law must be amended immediately, the government came to theconclusion that there was a strong case for the ordinance.
- The ordinance will amend criminal law instantly; it is the starting point of a legislative process.
- Justice Verma Committee gave its report in record time; deeply grateful to the committee.
- Some recommendations of the Justice Verma committee have not been incorporated in the ordinance as there are divergence of opinion. These require more consultations.
- Government welcomes suggestions by the public to incorporate changes in the law.
- Govt hopes that stringent provisions of Ordinance will deter potential criminals during now and time when new law is passed by Parliament.
- Further discussions will take place with other political parties and in Parliament.
- Not right to say govt rejected recommendations of the JS Verma Committee.
- Marital rape is a difficult issue on which we will have to hear the opinion of everybody; there is no universality of opinion on that.
- Amendments intended to protect dignity of victim, restrain police excesses & facilitate better evidence recording.
- The government has not included a few clauses, but it hasn't rejected anything.
- We have done nothing to alter the precedent that death is a punishment in the rarest of rare cases.
- Today death is a punishment for many crimes. The Supreme Court said that death penalty is given in the rarest of rare cases. In two cases the govt recommends death- one when the victim dies due to injury caused by the rape or leaves the victim in a vegetative state. Two- if the accused commits the same sexual assault again.
- Whether age under the Juvenile Justice Act needs to be reduced is a separate question that we will come to separately. At the moment, we are trying to make the law harsher, more stringent based on the broadest consensus.
- I don't understand why the Opposition is calling this an eyewash, we have been faithful to the Justice Verma panel recommendations.
- There will be changes in the ordinance. this is not final.
- There is a difference between haste and urgency. The government introduced the ordinance after considering the seriousness and urgency of the matter. We need to take a humanistic view , not a partisan view of the matter.
- Criminal law cannot be applied retrospectively; crimes committed before making the law have to be dealt with under the old law.
- Question is should we lower the age - and should we lower the age for certain crimes? These are complex questions which cannot be answered in a jiffy.
- Ordinance is not a place to reconcile widely divergent opinion; that we can do when we introduce the bill in Parliament.
- Whatever we do, the new law will apply only prospectively. That is the constitution of India; the constitution can't be amended so easily.
- Criminal law can only apply to prospective. Can we lower the age when the person can cease to be a juvenile. If not, can we lower the age for certain crimes? For every person who says that the age should be lower, another says that the age shouldn't be lowered. That is why we need to have more discussions on this before we can take a final decision.
- When the opinions are so different, those clauses have just been kept aside for the time being before we can take a decision on it.
- We have taken many steps to recruit more policewomen, sensitize police officers to the issue of gender.
- We can't promise changes overnight. We have also taken note of judicial reforms - High Court must set up more fast-track courts.
- We've amended the Code of Criminal Procedure Code and Evidence Act. Facilitates better recording of evidence and protecting the rights of witnesses and dignity of victim. It will facilitate a quicker trial.
- No evidence to suggest chemical castration is irreversible or a more stringent punishment; no recommendation in the Justice Verma panel on that.