New Delhi: The Supreme Court on Monday sought a response from the Centre on a plea for laying down pan-India guidelines, including clinical castration of the convicts, to prevent crime and violence against women and children.
The matter came up before a bench comprising justices Surya Kant and Ujjal Bhuyan.
During the hearing, the bench observed that it would not entertain many of the prayers mentioned in the petition as they are “barbaric” and “harsh.” However, the bench said some issues were very innovative while agreeing to examine the plea.
The plea was argued before the bench by senior advocate Mahalakshmi Pavani, who emphasised that there was a need to bring in stringent measures to ban the availability of online pornography. The counsel also pressed for bringing in clinical castration. She said the women suffered from rape on the road to rape in homes in the Nirbhaya to Abhaya case.
Justice Kant said the question of maintaining proper behaviour on public transport is one of the issues worth consideration. The bench stressed that awareness needs to be created on how one should behave on buses, metros, and trains. It said proper social behaviour in public transport should not only be taught but needs to be implemented strictly.
Pavani said that after the RG Kar Medical College Hospital incident in Kolkata, where a trainee doctor was raped and murdered, around 95 incidents of sexual violence have taken place but were not highlighted. She pointed out that Monday is the anniversary of the horrific 2012 Nirbhaya case, where a 23-year-old female physiotherapy intern was gang-raped and brutally assaulted on a bus. The victim subsequently died.
After hearing submissions, the bench sought a response from the Centre on a PIL filed by the Supreme Court's Women Lawyers Association. The bench directed that notice be issued to ministries and their instrumentalities concerned through the office of the Attorney General.
“We appreciate you seeking relief for the common woman, who faces struggle in day-to-day life,” said Justice Kant.
The plea also sought a direction to bring in stringent laws to provide chemical castration as a punishment to all the convicts for sexual offences against women and children and permanent castration for convicts sentenced to imprisonment for life and the death penalty.
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