Making stalking criminal offence was hurried decision: Delhi court

New Delhi: Making stalking a non-bailable offence after December 16, 2012 gangrape case was a hurried decision as several facets were missed out, a Delhi court said seeking a mechanism in place to look into the matter. The observation was made by the court of Additional Sessions Judge Kamini Lau while sentencing a man, who was obsessed with his ex-girlfriend and used to stalk her even after her marriage, to two years of jail for molestation. [caption id=“attachment_141490” align=“alignleft” width=“380”]  Representational image. AFP[/caption] The court also directed the prison authorities to get him treated for “psychotic obsessiveness”. On the issue of stalking, the court said after the Delhi gangrape case, the government hurriedly swung into action and brought about an ordinance which culminated into an act (Criminal Law Amendment Act 2013) making stalking a specific offence under the IPC. “However, most unfortunately it was a knee­jerk reaction in order to assuage the public anger but in that hurried process certain facets connected with stalking have not been taken care of and there is an urgent need to put in place a mechanism which could take care of several aspects,” it said. Hearing the case, judge Lau observed that convict Ashok Singh’s compulsive obsessive behaviour resulted in disbalanced conduct and the possibility of him repeating it even after his release and perhaps with more vengeance, cannot be ruled out. “Therefore, to ensure the safety of the woman there is a desirability of keeping him out of circulation of the society at least till such some time he receives a proper treatment for his stalking behaviour,” the court said while holding him guilty of offences of molestation and criminal intimidation. “During this period convict Ashok Singh be got checked and treated for psychotic obsessiveness for the woman, preferably from Institute of Human Behaviour and Applied Sciences (IHBAS) under intimation to this court. “I am informed that NGO Sampurna has been got involved and is providing psychotic help to both the woman and the wife of the convict in order to help both of them to cope up with their lives,” the judge said. The court also imposed a fine of Rs 25,000 on Singh, 31, and said the amount be given to the woman as compensation. PTI