Nirbhaya case anniv: SC notice to Centre over PIL on women safety guidelines

On the 12th anniversary of the Nirbhaya gangrape and murder case on Monday, the Supreme Court issued notice to the Centre and various ministries on a PIL seeking direction for framing pan-India guidelines to provide a safe environment for women, kids and transgender persons.

Agreeing to examine the PIL filed by the SC Women Lawyers’ Association, a Bench of Justice Surya Kant and Justice Ujjal Bhuyan posted the matter for further hearing in January. It directed that notices be issued to different ministries and instrumentalities concerned through the office of the Attorney General.

On behalf of the petitioner, senior advocate Mahalakshmi Pawani said several incidents of sexual abuse against women in smaller cities go unreported. “After the RG Kar Medical College and Hospital incident, around 95 incidents of sexual violence have taken place, but were not highlighted,” she submitted.

Pawani demanded that offenders get punishments such as chemical castration as was done in Scandinavian countries. “We appreciate you for seeking relief for the common woman, who faces struggle in day-to-day life,” Justice Surya Kant said.

Terming some of the prayers in the petition as “barbaric” and “harsh”, Justice Kant said some of the issues raised were very innovative and need to be examined. The question of maintaining proper behaviour in public transport was one of the issues worth consideration and awareness needed to be created on how one should behave in buses and trains, the Bench said, adding the dos and don’ts in public vehicles needed to be publicised.

Pavani told the Bench that December 16 was the anniversary of the horrific 2012 Nirbhaya case, in which a 23-year-old female physiotherapy intern was gangraped and assaulted in a running bus leading to her death a few days later.

Stating several guidelines had been issued in many cases and there were strict laws and punishments since then, she wondered if they were being implemented. It needed to be examined “where we are lacking in implementation of punitive and penal laws”, the Bench said.