INDIA: Indian government appoints two committees to look into stricter rape laws and speedy trials

Record ID: 1374263

  • Title: INDIA: Indian government appoints two committees to look into stricter rape laws and speedy trials
  • Date: 26th December 2012
  • Summary: NEW DELHI, INDIA (DECEMBER 26, 2012) (ORIGINALLY 4:3) (ANI - NO ACCESS BBC) INDIAN FINANCE MINISTER, PALANIAPPAN CHIDAMBARAM AND INDIA'S INFORMATION AND BROADCASTING MINISTER, MANISH TIWARI ARRIVING FOR NEWS CONFERENCE CHIDAMBARAM AND TIWARIAT NEWS CONFERENCE (SOUNDBITE) (English) INDIAN FINANCE MINISTER PALANIAPPAN CHIDAMBARAM SAYING: "Cabinet also approved a proposal to set up a commission of enquiry to look into the incident of rape and assault on a young woman on December 16, 2012 in Delhi and to suggest measures to improve the safety and security of women." CHIDAMBARAM AND TIWARI AT NEWS CONFERENCE (SOUNDBITE) (English) INDIAN FINANCE MINISTER PALANIAPPAN CHIDAMBARAM SAYING: "Whatever we do now is only intended to demonstrate governments' serious intent in the matter that we will apprehend and punish the perpetrators, we will try and find out what went wrong, what were the lapses, was there negligence and fixed responsibility and three amend the laws. So there are three parts to what we are doing." CHIDAMBARAM AND TIWARI AT NEWS CONFERENCE (SOUNDBITE) (English) INDIAN FINANCE MINISTER PALANIAPPAN CHIDAMBARAM SAYING: "The Justice J. S. Verma headed three member committee will suggest amendments to the criminal law for quicker trial of such cases and enhance punishment for criminals accused of committing sexual assault of extreme nature against women, that's confined to making suggestions about the laws and the trial of such cases. The Justice Usha Mehra commission of enquiry will reconstruct the whole incident, go into every aspect surrounding the incident, identify lapses on the part of any police authority, or any other authority or any other person and fix responsibility on such persons for the lapses and negligence." CHIDAMBARAM AND TIWARI LEAVING
  • Embargoed: 10th January 2013 19:40
  • Keywords:
  • Location: India
  • Country: India
  • Topics: Crime,Politics
  • Reuters ID: LVA8FYXQRFSEUFNM2AIYDXVGI47A
  • Aspect Ratio: 4:3
  • Story Text: The Indian government on Wednesday (December 26) appointed two committees to push for speedy trials of sexual assault cases and stringent laws for all those convicted for such crimes.
    The nation has witnessed an outpour of emotions after the brutal rape and physical assault of a 23-year-old medical student on December 16, and thousands have protested across India to express their anger and disgust at the government.
    India's Finance Minister Palaniappan Chidambaram said the government was seriously looking into finding lasting solutions to this problem of women's safety.
    "Cabinet also approved a proposal to set up a commission of enquiry to look into the incident of rape and assault on a young woman on December 16, 2012 in Delhi and to suggest measures to improve the safety and security of women," Chidambaram said at a news conference in New Delhi.
    Doctors said the 23-year-old victim of the recent attack, who was beaten, raped for almost an hour and thrown out of a moving bus in New Delhi, was still in a critical condition on respiratory support but responding to treatment.
    Chidambaram deemed the case as a matter of shame for the government.
    "Whatever we do now is only intended to demonstrate governments' serious intent in the matter that we will apprehend and punish the perpetrators, we will try and find out what went wrong, what were the lapses, was there negligence and fixed responsibility and three amend the laws. So there are three parts to what we are doing," Chidambaram added.
    The finance minister elaborated on the roles of the two committees and said that government was open to any more suggestions, especially from women, to fight this raging problem.
    "The Justice J. S. Verma headed three member committee will suggest amendments to the criminal law for quicker trial of such cases and enhance punishment for criminals accused of committing sexual assault of extreme nature against women, that's confined to making suggestions about the laws and the trial of such cases. The Justice Usha Mehra commission of enquiry will reconstruct the whole incident, go into every aspect surrounding the incident, identify lapses on the part of any police authority, or any other authority or any other person and fix responsibility on such persons for the lapses and negligence," Chidambaram said.
    New Delhi, home to about 16 million people, has the highest number of sex crimes among India's mega cities. Police figures show rape is reported on average every 18 hours and some other form of sexual attack every 14 hours in the capital.
    Women in India face a multitude of threats, from illegal abortions of female foetuses due to a preference for sons, to the murders of brides by in-laws for want of more dowry, child marriage and human trafficking.
  • Copyright Holder: ANI (India)
  • Copyright Notice: (c) Copyright Thomson Reuters 2012. Open For Restrictions - http://about.reuters.com/fulllegal.asp
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