When Jayalalithaa proposed chemical castration for rapists

It was New Year, a day when political leaders would extend greetings wishing people prosperity and happiness. But 2013 was different. Just a fortnight earlier, the country was shaken by the ‘Nirbhaya’ case in which a 23-year-old paramedical student was brutally gang-raped on a bus in the national capital, New Delhi. The young woman was air-lifted to the Mount Elizabeth Hospital in Singapore for treatment after which she died on December 29, 2012.

Amid a surcharged atmosphere and widespread outrage, the political climate was not ideal to usher in the New Year with greetings. So, on that day, Tamil Nadu Chief Minister J. Jayalalithaa chose to respond appropriately to the political situation. She unveiled a 13-point action plan for curbing sexual offences against women. She called for amending central criminal laws to provide stringent provisions to deal with sexual offenders.

One proposal stood out. “The Centre would be requested to bring in amendments to introduce death penalty and chemical castration for sexual offenders and prevent them from getting bail till the trial is completed,” Jayalalithaa declared.

This had immediately become a subject matter of discussion nationwide. The National Commission for Women (NCW) welcomed her views seeking amendment of laws dealing with crime against women. “It is a very good decision. She has asked for harsher punishment for the accused and has also said that steps will be taken to amend the Goondas Act,” NCW Chairperson Mamta Sharma had told the news agency, PTI, the same day.

Nonetheless, Ms. Sharma acknowledged, law cannot be changed overnight. “There are demands for chemical castration. People have also been asking for capital punishment. But, that is for the Parliament to decide. My only concern is that a serious law should be enacted which would act as a deterrent so that such crimes are not repeated,” she said.

Fast track Mahila courts

Among Jayalalithaa’s other announcements was an assurance that the Tamil Nadu government would bear the entire medical expenses of victims of sexual violence and assist them in their rehabilitation. She added, her government would set up fast track Mahila courts in each district in the State to deal with sexual crimes against women. It would appoint women investigating officers and prosecutors to make the police probe and trial more gender-sensitive. Efforts would be made to expedite the trial by holding daily hearings.

She said an integrated women’s helpline on the lines of Childline would be set up with the help of service-minded individuals, activists working for the welfare of women and involving trained professionals capable of handling women in distress. Besides, police personnel in civil clothes would be deployed at places such as malls and women’s colleges to monitor the movement of those who harass women.

Jayalalithaa said sexual offences against women would be treated as “grave crimes” and the investigation in such cases would be supervised by an officer in the rank of Deputy Superintendent of Police. Women Inspectors would assist the investigation. While Superintendents of Police and Deputy Inspectors General would conduct a monthly review of such cases; the Inspector General of Police would submit a report in 15 days on the number of cases of sexual crime under investigation and pending in courts to the Additional Director General of Police (Law and Order).

Disagreements

While commending many of her measures, members of the civil society had also disapproved of certain views of Jayalalithaa on the subject.

An editorial in The Hindu said: “While coming up with these thoughtful measures, it is unfortunate that Ms. Jayalalithaa could not resist yielding to the calls for the death penalty and chemical castration of offenders. Rape is sexual violence of the most brutal kind, and those who advocate chemical castration are obviously seeing it as an act of sex rather than as an act of violence. If a criminal is deemed so potentially violent that chemical castration is needed to prevent repeat offences, what is the guarantee that he would not resort to other forms of physical violence against women? As a deterrent too, there is no reason why it should work any better than death penalty, and there is enough evidence that death penalty hardly works as a deterrent.”

Karunanidhi’s appeal

DMK then president M. Karunanidhi also had his reservations on the advocacy of death penalty. Instead, he urged the Central Government to consider a proposal to introduce solitary life imprisonment as maximum punishment for rape convicts. Karunanidhi said though leaders of various political parties had favoured death sentence for rapists, he alone favoured solitary confinement for life as appropriate punishment.

“I wanted the State government and the Centre to take firm steps to implement my suggestion. Like many social activists and thinkers, I am not in favour of capital punishment,” he said.