Justice for Nirbhaya

The grotesque Nirbhaya gangrape-murder case of December 2012 gets a closure with the four death row convicts having exhausted the legal remedies in the seven-year trial and been finally sentenced to execution on January 22. But the issues that the sensational case threw open — regarding the safety of women, related laws and disposal of justice —unfortunately continue to burn; and effective remedies remain elusive. The brutalities endured by the 23-year-old Braveheart on the moving bus in Delhi had shocked the nation's conscience, shaking it into a spontaneous eruption of grief, seeking justice for the victim and following it to its conclusion.

As people, cutting across the divide, cried for a safe environment for their daughters in unison, the government was galvanised into action. With the spotlight on gender crimes refusing to fade, there was no chance for the usual glossing over. The biggest gain of the outcry and discourse was the shift in public mindset: from shaming the rape victim to angry noises against the merciless perpetrators of heinous sexual violence. As the battered paramedic student became the ‘daughter of the nation’, many more girls gathered the courage to call out their rapists. Facilitating them were the laws rapidly enacted: the Criminal Amendment Act (2013) and the Sexual Harassment at Workplace Act (2013) as also the institution of the Justice Verma Committee.

However, every push forward suffered a setback as the spate of gruesome attacks continued — Unnao, Kotkhai and Hyderabad, to name a few. They expose the weaknesses in the system as tardy implementation persists. Shoddy investigations deny the survivors their right to timely justice. The resultant frustration provokes a misguided desire for summary trial and death for the accused as robust law enforcement continues to be elusive. Effective deterrence can emanate from sure, strict and swift justice. Institutional reforms that lead to better policing, investigation and forensics, accountability and faster courts are needed to prevent further assaults on women. The final vindication in the Nirbhaya case will come only when all girls feel safe in the country.