POCSO ordinance on death penalty for child rape a

good step but lots more to be done, say citizens

 Citizen Petition via LocalCircles had received 25,000+ signatures from across India
 Petitioner Uma Ghurka & LocalCircles met with Minister, WCD to submit citizen ask
 Want reforms in the area of investigation and judicial processes including time bound
investigation and dedicated judges for POCSO cases
24th April 2018, New Delhi - In a news that would calm down some resentment amongst
citizens post a series of child rapes across the country, President Ram Nath Kovind signed the
executive order post cabinet approving the ordinance that calls for death penalty for child
rape. Acknowledging the petition that was started on LocalCircles by the President of
Confederation of Women Entrepreneurs, Mrs Uma Ghurka which got more than 25,000
signatures, the Centre had earlier passed an ordinance to amend the POCSO act and award
death penalty to child rapists. LocalCircles had also conducted a survey to catch the citizen
pulse on the POCSO Act.
According to this 6-poll Survey receiving more than 40,000 votes from across the country, a
harshest of the harsh punishment is the first step but a lot more needs to be done to
drastically reduce the cases of child rape. This was evident in the fact that on the day the
President signed the ordinance, 10 cases of child rape were reported from across India.
The first question in th survey asked what the appropriate punishment for child rape should
be. 76% respondents said it should be death penalty, 18% said life imprisonment without
parole, 3% said it should be a 7-year jail term (current) and 2% could not decide.

In the second poll, people were asked if they wanted their state to pass a law that awards
death penalty within 6 months for cases of child rape. 89% agreed with it and said it should
be done asap while 5% did not agree with it. 3% said yes and it is always done, while 3% were
unsure about it. 4 states namely Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan, Haryana and Arunachal Pradesh
have also passed a law that awards death penalty for child rape. Uttar Pradesh CM Yogi
Adityanath too committed last week to seek centre’s support on the same for his state.

One of the key issues highlighted by many citizens in the LocalCircles discussions was the
resistance shown by local police to register an FIR when a case of sexual assault or child rape
is presented to them. Citizens suggested that women officers may be more receptive to
registering cases. When the same question was posed via a poll, 78% citizens were in support
of every district level police station to have at least one women officer. 13% did not support
it while 9% were unsure.
In the next question it was asked as to what should be the maximum time taken by police to
file a charge sheet in cases of a child rape, 28% said it should be done within 30 days and 25%
said 45 days. 45% said it should be a maximum of 90 days whereas 2% were not sure. Overall
98% people want a charge sheet filed within 3 months by all means for cases of child rape.

Currently POCSO judges in district courts also handle other cases (outside child rape or child
abuse and unrelated to children) thereby leading to delays in POCSO cases. The next question
asked what should be done to resolve it. 65% said these judges should only handle POCSO
cases in their district and other courts while 22% said these judges should only handle POCSO
cases in their district court. 9% said they should continue to handle other cases in district
court and 4% were not sure about it.
The next question asked considering the constraints of the Indian legal and judicial system,
what should be the maximum time taken for justice in cases of child rape under POCSO act.
85% said it should be 6 months while 10% said it should be 12 months. Only 2% said it should
be 18 months and another 2% were unsure about it.

Many citizens feel that with faster investigation and trial, chances are that conviction rates
will go up. Currently according to citizens with conviction rates of 25% or so in POCSO cases,
the fear of law is mostly missing. About a third of the cases where chargesheet was filed
between 2012 and 2016 are still open. In addition, given the statistics, in 80% plus cases the
offender is known to the victim’s family (relative, friend, neighbour), the longer the
investigation and trial, higher are the chances of the victim’s family getting influenced.
Citizens also feel that there is a strong need for awareness and outreach about the new law
so the message reaches all sections of the society.

About LocalCircles
LocalCircles, India’s leading Community Social Media platform takes Social Media to the next
level and makes it about Communities, Governance and Utility. It enables citizens to connect
with communities for most aspects of urban daily life like Neighborhood, Constituency, City,
Government, Causes, Interests and Needs, seek information/assistance when needed, come
together for various initiatives and improve their urban daily life. LocalCircles is free for
citizens and always will be!

Media Contact: K. Yatish Rajawat - media@localcircles.com, +91-9818311177

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