Beyond The Facade: Gender Bias In India’s Reformed Criminal Law
By Priyam Khajanchi, School of Law, CHRIST(Deemed to be University).*
Abstract
Health, employment, social, and political discrepancies between men and women in India have existed for ages. The researcher wants to make an effort to investigate the gender-specific problems in India's laws protecting women, which solely punish men and don't provide men or another gender with any rights in the context of the same crimes perpetrated against them. India has taken the revolutionary step of granting transgenders the same fundamental rights as people of the other two genders officially recognised. By making a stand about the issue of males and transgender or other gender being the victim of rape and other crimes, we must challenge societal preconceptions that restrict males and transgender or other gender individuals to stereotypes and force them to conceal their feelings.
The Indian Penal Code's laws often portray men as the perpetrators and women as the victims. Men and all genders, including the LGBTQ+ community, are assaulted verbally, physically, emotionally, psychologically, and sexually, according to numerous campaigns like #MeToo and #MenToo. To decolonize the criminal laws inherited from the British era, India has introduced three new criminal codes: the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS), the Bhartiya Nagrik Suraksha Sanhita (BNSS), and the Bharatiya Sakshya Adhiniyam (BSA). These are intended to replace the Indian Penal Code, 1860 (IPC), the Criminal Procedure Code, 1973 (CRPC), and the Indian Evidence Act, 1872 (IEA), respectively. The new codes propose substantial reforms, including the consolidation and streamlining of existing IPC provisions, the introduction of new offences related to hate speech, terrorism, and threats to national sovereignty, unity, and integrity. They also address procedural changes, such as timelines for investigations and trials, and provisions for trials in absentia for absconders. Despite these advancements toward gender neutrality, the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, 2023, still falls short in addressing certain gaps.
The scope of this problem is investigated, and its sources and repercussions are highlighted. The researcher delves into analysing the existing protective laws in India in light of gender-neutral laws and concludes by outlining the necessary adjustments that can be made to ensure that all genders are protected equally under the law and not just one class at the expense of another. In comparison to gender-neutral laws, the author examines the new protective legislation in India and makes suggestions for changes that may be implemented to guarantee that the law suitably protects all genders.
Keywords- Gender-Neutral Laws, Rape, Sexual Violence, Domestic Violence, Lgbtq+, Crimes Against Men, Movements, Indian Penal Code, Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhitha.
* The author is a final year student pursuing B.A LL.B. from School of Law, CHRIST(Deemed to be University).
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