Nirbhaya Act: An Overview

 Nirbhaya act is Indian legislation to protect children and women from sexual offences. Here's everything you need to know about the Act.


The Criminal Law (Amendment) Act 2013 (Nirbhaya Act) is an Indian law passed by the Lok Sabha on March 19, 2013. Rajya Sabha passed the act on March 21, 2013. It amends the Indian Penal Code, Indian Evidence Act, and Code of Criminal Procedure, 1973, to address laws relating to sexual offences.


Let’s have a brief about the act




Criminal law amendment act 2013: Sexual offences


The Criminal Law (Amendment) Bill, 2013, is also known as the Anti-Rape Bill. The Act went into effect on February 3, 2013, in response to the national anger over the deadly gang rape in New Delhi on December 16, 2012. Following the brutal rape incident, the protests in Delhi demonstrated the vastness and gravity of the need for quick reform in Rape Laws across India.


This incident received widespread international attention, and the United Nations Entity for Gender Equality and Women condemned it.


The public and different human rights organisations and women's organisations called for changes to the existing law dealing with sexual offences. As a result, the Nirbhaya act 2013 was born.

Reasons for the enactment


The national anger over the violent gang rape and subsequent death of a physiotherapy intern in India's capital city, New Delhi, was the driving force behind the passage of the Criminal Law (Amendment) Act, 2013, which attempted to reform the country's existing laws surrounding sexual offences. 


The Nirbhaya Act 2013 is one of the most significant amendments to the current criminal laws, including the Indian Penal Code, the Code of Criminal Procedure, and the Indian Evidence Act.


Nirbhaya case


A 23-year female physiotherapy intern was attacked and gang-raped in a private bus. On December 16, 2012, a 23-year female physiotherapy intern was travelling in a private bus with a male acquaintance in Munirka, a neighbourhood in the southern portion of New Delhi. She was attacked and brutally gang-raped by six people. The victim did not survive as a result of her injuries. 


The episode received enormous national and international attention and solid condemnation, both in India and beyond. Following that, public protests in New Delhi against the Indian government and the Delhi government for failing to provide proper security for women erupted, with thousands of protestors clashing with security personnel. 


Similar demonstrations took hold in major cities around the country, calling for harsher regulations and more expeditious justice.

The Justice Verma Committee


On December 23, 2012, a three-member committee led by former Chief Justice of the Supreme Court Justice J.S. Verma was formed to recommend changes to the Criminal Law that would allow criminals convicted of sexual assault against women to be tried more quickly to receive a harsher penalty. 


Justice Leila Seth, a former judge, and Gopal Subramaniam, a former Solicitor General of India, were the other members of the Committee.


Recommendations of the Committee

Rape punishment


Rapists should not face the death penalty, according to the panel. It proposes that the Nirbhaya act punishment for rape should be seven years to life in jail or a restraining order. And those who cause death or a "permanent vegetative condition" should be sentenced to RI for at least 20 years, but up to life, which is the duration of the person's life. 

Other sexual offences punishment


The panel agreed to penalise all sorts of sexual offences and recommended that voyeurism be punished with up to seven years in prison, and stalking or persistent attempts to contact a person by any means be punished with up to three years in jail. Acid attacks might result in up to seven years in prison, while drug trafficking could result in a penalty of seven to ten years in prison.


Many people enquire for an acid attack is an offence under which section of IPC? So, Section 326 A recognises acid attack as an offence.

Bill of rights for women


A unique Bill of Rights for women guarantees a woman's right to a life of dignity and security and the right to complete sexual autonomy, including in her relationships.


To Conclude:


The Nirbhaya Act reflects a progressive perspective on making an effect and fighting violence against women. However, the act is insufficient in and of itself to provide reparation and seek justice for women who have been victims of violence. For this, the Indian government must invest massively in the necessary infrastructure to combat crime, as well as meaningful reforms in the judiciary (such as building fast-track women's courts, involving more women lawyers, and allowing women doctors to examine victims) and modernisation of the police system across the country.

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