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Verma panel slams home secretary R K Singh for police pat
Vishwa Mohan ,TNN | Jan 24, 2013, 01.59AM IST 
NEW DELHI: Justice J S Verma slammed home secretary R K Singh for praising the Delhi Police for the swift arrest of the accused in the Nirbhaya gang rape case at a time when law enforcement agencies should have apologized for the ghastly crime against the young woman who later died in a Singapore hospital.
Justice Verma blamed "institutional apathy" and failure of law enforcement authorities to come across as credible agencies capable of faithfully and fairly implementing laws while criticizing state police chiefs for not appearing before the panel headed by him.
Speaking at the release of his report on the need to tighten laws, he said, "The commissioner of police was given a pat on his back by no less than a person holding the post of home secretary. I was shocked to see that," he said, adding the least the secretary could have done was to seek an apology for failing to protect citizens.
On the contentious issue of the legal age of juveniles — one of the six accused in the Nirbhaya case is a minor - the panel said this should not be lowered from the present 18 years. The debate has generated considerable heat as the juvenile is believed to have been the most violent of the offenders. The committee is also not in favour of capital punishment and chemical castration of rapists.
Although the three-member committee suggested various amendments like a minimum 20-year jail term for gang rapists and life imprisonment till death for rape and murder and adding new offences such as disrobing a woman, voyeurism and stalking in the law, Verma said existing laws were sufficient as long as law enforcement agencies do their job.
In this context, he took on public functionaries responsible for traffic regulation, maintenance of law and order and sharply criticized the low priority accorded to dealing with complaints of sexual assault.
Pin-pointing the home secretary, Verma said he was shocked to hear the senior official's comments at a time when an apology was expected from the authorities.
In detailed observation made by him and two other members of the committee — Justice Leila Seth and former solicitor general Gopal Subramanium - Verma also regretted that no police chief of states appeared before the panel despite being asked to do so.
He, in this context and the poor implementation of laws, emphasized police reforms, citing the need to make top cops accountable, while also insulating them from political interference in day-to-day duties.
Verma, while making the report of the Committee public, also once referred to how even the premier investigative agency CBI behaved differently with a change of government at the Centre.
The Committee, set up in the wake of public outrage over the December 16 incident to recommend measures to improve laws dealing with sexual offences, received around 80,000 suggestions including some from experts from countries like the UK, the US, Canada and Australia.
Panel members, making the report public after submitting it to the home ministry, used "Nirbhaya" (the symbolic name given by the TOI) while referring to the December 16 gang rape victim. They emphasized that if public servants had worked, Nirbhaya would not have faced such horrific crime and lost her life.
Although the panel praised the popular demonstrations against the crime, it was also critical of public inaction as passers-by and bystanders did not render help to Nirbhaya and her male friend who lay badly injured and disrobed on the roadside for a long time. Verma, however, noted "the misbehaviour of the police towards any Samaritan is often the cause of such apathy".
Besides suggesting amendments to make anti-rape law more stringent, the panel also suggested all marriages in India should be mandatorily registered so that a magistrate can ensure the union has been solemnized without demand for dowry and both parties had consented.
Explaining how he set out the time frame for the report's submission, Justice Verma said he had asked a minister who approached him when the next date of Parliament was. "The minister told me that the (Budget) session will start on February 21. There were two months. So I decided lets do it in 30 days. If we are able to do it in half the time available, then the government with its might and resources should also act fast," he said.
Verma said the committee did not suggest death penalty for rapists as women organizations were overwhelmingly against such a provision, the point being received with loud applause from activists at the gathering.
The Committee did not recommend death penalty for rape because it was a "regressive step" that "may not have a deterrent effect", Justice Verma said.
The panel noted the peculiar status of law and order with the Government of the National Capital Territory of Delhi not having any control over the police force, which comes under the home ministry, as the reason given out by Delhi Chief Minister Sheila Dikshit for the limited role of her government.
"This ambiguity must be removed forthwith so that there is no divided responsibility in Delhi in respect of maintenance of law and order. Such a step is also essential to maintain accountability," it said.
Coming down heavily on khap panchayats, the Committee said means adopted by them have assumed "unreasonable proportions" and asked the government to ensure such bodies do not interfere with choices made by people regarding marriage. It said actions of khap panchayats are extremely relevant for its consideration in the context of crime against women, since one of the most prevalent practices to enforce writ was honour killing.
Complementing youth, he said, "Youth has taught us what we, the older generation, were not aware of. I was struck by the peaceful manner in which the protests were carried out...the youth rose to the occasion".
