BackIs a national sex offenders’ registry need of the hour?
The release of the juvenile convicted in the Delhi gangrape has given impetus to the formation of a sex offenders' registry the public can access
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New Delhi: Wearing a pair of faded jeans and a torn sweater, 24-year-old Praveen Singh is basking in the sun on a fine day, talking about life in Ravi Das Camp.
“I am unemployed," he says. “The company I interviewed with refused to hire me because I live in this slum where four of the Nirbhaya rapists used to live. They thought perhaps I am a rapist too."
Located in south Delhi, Ravi Das Camp gained a degree of notoriety following the brutal gangrape and murder of a 23-year-old physiotherapy student on 16 December 2012.
“Media not just shamed the rapists but our entire society. Those four did a heinous crime, and we are not defending them. But today I am unemployed and I blame media for it," adds Singh.
Three years later, the youngest of the six convicts, a juvenile at the time of the crime, is due for release on 20 December from a juvenile welfare home. On Friday, the Delhi high court directed that the juvenile convict be released as per the requirements of the Juvenile Justice Act. Questions are already being raised by lawyers, social activists and ministers about the implications of releasing him.
Following a ministry of home affairs report, which highlighted that there seems to be no improvement in the juvenile’s behaviour, the centre had been in favour of extending the convict’s detention. On Monday, the government told Delhi high court that key information about the juvenile is missing, and until all aspects are taken into account, his stay in the shelter should be extended.
As per law and fundamental rights granted by the Constitution, a person who has committed a crime and has undergone a sentence is entitled to be released after completing the term. The juvenile has served his sentence and there is no way the government can keep him in confinement any further. At the most, a management committee can assess the reformation of the convict under the Juvenile Justice Act. Lawyers say that under Article 21 of the Constitution, every person has the right to live life with liberty.
While debate rages on the release of the juvenile convict, the other fallout of the 2012 gangrape is the impetus to a 2009 project to set up a national sex offenders’ registry. This registry will allow citizens access to a nationwide list of people convicted in crimes relating to sex or child abuse.
The portal will open by March 2017, said Jitendra Singh, minister of state for the prime minister’s office, at a conference. It is part of other e-governance projects relating to the Crime and Criminals Tracking Network and Systems (CCTNS) project.
Women and Child Development minister Maneka Gandhi has pitched for the surveillance of sex crime convicts after their release. She has asked the law minister to frame a law that will make it mandatory to register the name of sex offenders by local police. Since new legislation may take time to enact, proactive action such as monitoring these offenders may be a solution, Gandhi said.
Juvenile crime registered under the Indian Penal Code (IPC) rose 47%, from 22,740 cases in 2010 to 33,526 in 2014, according to data released by National Crime Records Bureau. This data may appear to support the contention of Nirbhaya’s parents who think the juvenile rapist of their daughter should not be released.
“I don’t care what the law says; he should not be set free. His release is a big threat to the society. My daughter suffered and died, but I don’t want the same thing to happen to any other girl. People protested, fought after that incident, and it had no influence on our system. I support the decision of having a list of sex offenders. What if we have a rapist amidst us and he does something, this list will definitely help," the mother of the victim said, favouring a registry of sex offenders.
Rights groups are concerned that such a list might violate the rights of convicts. On the other side of the debate are those who believe that citizens have the right to know whether a potential employee or a neighbour, for example, have a past record of conviction.
“I do not agree with the compulsory listing of names. This step will prove to be counterproductive. It will alienate convicts from society. Once on the list, all possibility for a convict to improve and move on in life will be lost," says senior advocate Indira Jaising. “Also, this is completely unconstitutional. Sex offenders have already served a jail sentence. There is no data that can prove that this man can become a menace to society. Our responsibility is to make this person a better citizen; so, continuous efforts to interact with him will be a better thing to do. They are releasing a man, not an animal," she added.
But others believe that a national registry will be in line with practices in countries such as the UK and the US. “People should know about the neighbourhood they are choosing to live in. People need to be warned. Every citizen of this country has a right to live with dignity and safety," says social activist Ranjana Kumari.
In other countries that maintain a national registry of sex offenders, the government and law enforcement agencies wait for at least one conviction before including any individual’s name. But in India, the government is planning to publicize even charge-sheeted offenders.
A chargesheet offender may be convicted by a trial court but that does not conclusively establish guilt; several times, high courts or the Supreme Court overturn such convictions.
“I work with victims who are sexually abused. I am worried. India is moving towards extreme punitive action and branding. A chargesheet does not make a person an offender. This way, you are not giving him a second chance in life. We need to find out what is ailing our society," said Enakshi Ganguly, founder and co-director of HAQ Centre for Child Rights.
Winnie Singh, executive director and co-founder of Maitri India, a non-governmental organization that works to facilitate individual’s human rights, especially rights to identity, dignity and respect, differs. “I want to know who my teenager or child is interacting with. Are these people safe? A national registry will help identify sex offenders," Singh says.
Psychologists say sexual assaulters in India are not tech-savvy; so an online record will not really bother them. “As a psychologist, I would say the move will not prove a deterrent. There is a difference in profiles of sexual assaulters in India as compared to other countries. They aren’t tech-savvy. In all cases of sexual assault that I have dealt with, I can actually count on my fingers people who were tech-savvy or even bothered about their name being up online," says Rajat Mitra, head of counselling at NGO Swanchetan that works on women’s mental health issues.
Worldwide, sex-offender lists typically include the names of persons convicted of sexual offences, their updated contact details, photographs, travel routes and other such personal information. Convicts who fail to register changes in registered details face punitive action. Such information is often made available to the public in some form.
In the UK, where registration has been in place since 1997, the list is shared on a need-to-know basis in relation to specific sex offences. In the US, where registration dates back to 1989, sex offender lists can be accessed by the public. In the US, the law also places restrictions on residence and employment of sex offenders under respective state laws.
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