All-party meet on anti-rape law bill: Concerns on age of consent, misuse of bill

Parliamentary Affairs Minister Kamal Nath has said that there was ‘broad consensus’ on the anti-rape law at an all-party meeting that concluded in Delhi a short while ago. Speaking to the media shortly after the meeting, Nath said that there had been “some concerns about misuse and abuse on some of the provisions”, adding that they had asked for adequate measures for safeguards. “These measures will be discussed when we meet again at 12.30pm”, he said. [caption id=“attachment_665080” align=“alignleft” width=“380”]  AFP[/caption] The other bone of contention is the age of consent which has been set at 16. “There has been a divergence of views on whether the age of consent should be 16 or 18. This will also be discussed further when we meet again”, said Nath. The BJP are among opposition parties that have expressed reservations at the lowering of the age of consent. The Samajwadi Party has also publicly expressed its own concerns, that certain provisions like those against eve teasing could be misused in order to target and frame people. “If required the government will bring amendments to the law”, said Nath, adding that the bill would be first introduced in the Lok Sabha and therafter taken to the Rajya Sabha. The Times Now channel said that the bill could be introduced to the Lok Sabha as early as tomorrow. The anti-rape bill will replace the anti-rape ordinance which was brought in after the Justice JS Verma report on preventing crimes against women. The ordinance, which was promulgated by President Pranab Mukherjee on 3 February, has to be approved by Parliament within six weeks from the date of its promulgation. The first half of the ongoing budget session ends 22 March and the House will reconvene only on 22 April. According to reports, MPs cutting across party lines are pressurising their parties not to get the bill passed in haste. The government wants to move the bill in Lok Sabha on Tuesday, get it passed on Wednesday and then by Rajya Sabha by Friday, 22 March. But reports suggest that Parliament may recommend the bill to a joint select committee for close scrutiny to avoid any legal tangles. Here are the main provisions of the bill * The bill provides for stringent punishment for crimes against women, including rape, and also includes acid attacks as a criminal offence. * Age of consent for sex from 18 to 16 years. * ‘Sexual assault’ has been replaced with ‘rape’, and rape has been made a gender-specific offence under which only men can be charged. * Sustained stalking and voyuerism have been made non-bailable offences. * The bill has stopped short of including marital rape as an offence. The anti-rape Ordinance will lapse on 4 April and the government is keen on passing the legislation before the Parliament session recess which begins on 22 March.