The Manmohan Singh led Union Cabinet has issued an ordinance to fight sexual crimes against women. The ordinance got the assent of the President Pranab Mukherjee. Some would say that the government has shown its commitment by bringing out an ordinance in a bid to fast-track stringent amendments to the criminal laws to check crime against women. Others including some women activists are however not impressed with the ordinance and questioning not only the manner in which it was hurriedly done but also criticized the content of the ordinance, which they feel does not do justice to the recommendations of the JS Verma Committee. The other criticism, which is actually without much basis, is that the government has quietly passed this ordinance without sharing it with the public and without actually debating and discussing it. However every government decision cannot be put for public discussion. And also sometimes urgency is required to deal with some immediate situation. An ordinance is a constitutional means available for the government when circumstances exist which render it necessary for taking immediate action. All will agree that the increasing crime against women taking place across the country require emergency initiatives. So we should not complain about the latest ordinance.
Coming to the content of the ordinance, it is now for Parliament to accept, amend or reject the executive decision. Going by some of the concerns (and disappointment) raised by some women’s organisations urging the President not to sign the ordinance, it is true that the government has been selective by accepting some portions only and this is quite disappointing. The ordinance has not taken into account the call for review of the Armed Forces Special Powers Act (AFSPA) and to curb its misuse of “sexual violence against women by members of the armed forces or uniformed personnel”. Nevertheless the ordinance has also made improvement on some of the points such as where it now mentions that rape that leads to death of the victim can now attract death penalty. The Justice Verma report had rejected the death penalty. So if one looks from the point of view of deterrence, the ordinance is tougher than the recommendation made in the Justice Verma Committee report. Anyway the ordinance in its present form may not be perfect or even complete but nevertheless the country needs to get tough on crimes against women without wasting any more time.
In a democracy, it is always a healthy sign for debate and discussion to take place and therefore dissent against decisions taken by the government is welcome. The criticism on the ordinance promulgated by the government of the day is therefore fair and a normal thing to happen. However, allowing dissent should not mean that we do not let the government perform its function. And in this case it is not possible or even advisable to put every decision taken by the government to some kind of public referendum. And so what the Manmohan Singh led Union Cabinet has done by coming out with an ordinance is the first step in taking action against those who commit crimes or violence against women. The resort to an ordinance also goes to show the urgency of the issue and people should support whatever small step is being taken. Everything cannot be changed or improved immediately or in one ordinance. And as and when Parliament convenes, the real debate and discussion can take place on the issue of fighting sexual crimes and also the recommendations of the JS Verma Committee. But also given the way our democratic institution like the Parliament functions, there is bound to be some delay. And it is for this reason we need to appreciate the wisdom of bringing in an ordinance so that the law can start to work immediately and women’s right can be protected.
