INTRODUCTION
Gang raped and killed two young girls on May 27, 2014, in the Badaun district, Uttar Pradesh, India. Both domestically and abroad, there was extensive press coverage of it. The suspects were released after the CBI determined that there had not been a gang rape. However, the POSCO court denied the CBI’s closure report on October 28, 2015[1], which was a significant blow for CBI.
INCIDENT
The girl left the open defecation site in the evening and never returned. Despite the information, officers initially did nothing. The villagers searched for the girls all night and found them hanging in a tree the next morning. An earlier post-mortem revealed that the girls had been hanged alive, then raped and strangled. The CBI investigation found that the initial investigation, conducted by a doctor who had never conducted rape investigations, was flawed and found no evidence of rape. The girl’s family and some activists dismissed the CBI report as a cover-up to “avoid international stigma and acceptance of the dire law and order situation.” Local police tried to cover up the tragedy because of the family’s low social status, according to the girl’s relatives and others. Early sources indicated they were of the ‘Dalit’ caste. Further reports refuted the claim that the victims were members of the Dalit caste. The Indian government started looking into the situation on June 6 and found that “it is important for the count to oversee the probe” because “a deliberate effort of a blame game has taken shape by the officers managing the administration”.[2]
THE INCIDENT AS INITIALLY REPORTED
In the early morning hours of May 28, 2014, two girls aged 14 and 15 were found hanging from a mango tree branch in the village of Katra Sadatganj. The night before, when my two cousins went to wash their hands in the fields, they never came back. When they didn’t return until late at night, their family started searching. The girls were found hanging in a tree early the next morning. Accounts of what occurred during the search and how police were involved differed significantly, casting doubt on the investigation as a whole.[3]
VARIOUS VERSIONS OF THE SAME TALE
- According to some reports, the victim’sfather and another uncle, Sohan Lal, went to the police station around midnight and asked for help to find the two girls. However, his two officers on duty mocked him and he said he did not register the
- According to anotheraccount, Babu Ram, a close family friend and key witness to the incident, saw the girls held at gunpoint by the main culprit, Pappu Babu Ram reportedly rushed to inform his family of the abduction, who then turned themselves into the police.
- According to anotheraccount, the family visited Pappu Yadav’s house, where he admitted to kidnapping the girls but refused to release them. The desperate family went to the police, who initially said her daughters would be home in two When the family returned to the train station two hours later, a police officer informed them that her daughter might be hanging from a tree.[4]
ARTICLE 15
Protecting Indian citizens from all forms of discrimination is a key issue addressed in Article 15[5] of the Indian Constitution. India is a very diverse country with people of different religions, ideologies, dialects, cultures, etc. It is impossible to avoid discrimination in a country of such diversity. The purpose of Article 15[6] is to protect the rights and interests of citizens. She protects the inhabitants of India from racism, untouchability, religion, sexism, and other prejudices. A widespread form of discrimination in India is caste-based prejudice.
Although untouchability is now illegal and prohibited in India, there are still areas where people are exposed to untouchability due to caste beliefs and a lack of legal understanding. And at the root of the untouchables. People classified as lower castes experience the most prejudice because of the perception that those born in lower castes are inferior to those born in higher castes.
Such discrimination is specifically defined as a crime in Article 15[7], and those found guilty of such crimes face penalties and penalties. The Constitution of India provides reservations to people of enlisted castes, enlisted tribes, and other backward sections to improve the economic status of the socially backward classes as a result of discrimination in pre-independence India. We guarantee. In 2019, a further category of the economically weak section was added by including clause (6) in the economically weak section of Article 15[8]. These groups of people are given priority in educational institutions, government positions, and some private employment under Article 15[9]. Prejudice, hardship, and barriers to independence leave them economically and socially disadvantaged and unable to provide equal opportunities for advancement. In addition to backwardness, Article 15[10] prohibits discrimination based on sex.[11]
Regulations have been in place since the 1950s, but women have long fought for equal rights and opportunities before they were finally recognized. To realize the equal rights proclaimed in the preamble of the Indian Constitution, Article 15[12] deals with the protection of women and special measures for women. Women’s rights are an issue that is receiving a lot of attention as society adapts to new dynamics.
CASTE ANGLE
In the initial stages, it did not indicate that the victims belonged to the Dalit community, as seen in the reports. On May 29, Nita Bhalla incorrectly classified them as Dalits in a Reuter report. They were later widely reported to be of the Maurya caste, which has a status similar to that of a Yadav, rather than the Dalit community according to Reuters. The national government questioned the Uttar Pradesh state administration after the accused were accused of raping and killing the two girls in Badaun and asked why the severe SC/ST Act, 1989 (prevention of atrocities) provisions were not followed. The casualties were from the other backward classes community rather than SC/ST community, according to the state government’s reaction to the Badaun district administration’s report.[13]
FAILURE OF SC AND ST (PREVENTION OF ATROCITIES) ACT, 1989
Although the SC/ST (POA) currently in force contains strict requirements, they are not used or enforced to protect Dalit women. The SC/ST (POA) Cruelty Act was not enforced by the police or the legal system, even in situations involving both aggravated rape and caste abuse.
There is an urgent need to apply some oversight mechanism to remedy the shortcomings of the criminal justice system in the situation of Dalit women. Officials who falsify evidence, defend criminals, or assist criminals should be prosecuted. As part of the training, police officers should be made aware of SC/ST (POA) law and other related matters affecting Dalit her community, especially Dalit women.
To justify the human rights of Dalit women, it is necessary to understand the relationship between caste and gender. Criminal justice must also be fundamentally overhauled and carefully implemented to ensure that those who seek redress are not subject to impunity.[14]
CONCLUSION
People have experienced and suffered from widespread discrimination. The fact that prejudice still exists in many sectors of the country does not mean that prejudice has disappeared through the existence of laws. Even though laws have been enacted to protect human rights and stop discrimination, issues stills linger. The main culprits are the lack of adaptation of the people and the insufficient severity of the punishment. Only by law can society recognize that all human beings are created equal. This is a concept that has not yet been adopted in many parts of the world. Human discrimination will end only when the public fully accepts the provisions of the law.
Along with backwardness, Article 15[15] forbids discrimination based on sex. Even though the regulations have been in place since the 1950s, women have fought for equal rights and opportunities for a very long period, and they are now finally receiving recognition. To realize the equality declared in the preamble of the Indian Constitution, Article 15[16] deals with the protection of women and special measures for them. Women’s rights are a topic that receives a lot of attention as society adjusts to the new dynamic.
Author(s) Name: Polly Bhardwaj (Rajasthan School of Law for Women)
References:
[1] Parveen Kaur, ‘Article 15: Discrimination on the Basis of Caste (Badaun Gang Rape)’ (Legal Study Material, -03 November 2022) <https://legalstudymaterial.com/discrimination-on-the-basis-of-caste/#Introduction> accessed 02 February 2023
[2] Dr Sanjeev Kumar Chadha, ‘Sexual Abuses and Other Forms of Violence against Dalit Women’ (Research Gate, 2018) <https://www.researchgate.net/publication/348500040_Sexual_Abuses_and_Other_Forms_of_Violence_against_Dalit_Women> accessed 02 February 2023
[3] Shubhangi Mishra, ‘5 Yrs On, Case of Badaun Girls Found Hanging from Tree Still Murky’ (TheQuint, 24 June 2019) <https://www.thequint.com/amp/story/explainers/badaun-alleged-gang-rape-and-murder-case-explained#read-more> accessed 02 February 2023
[4] Ibid
[5] Constitution of India 1950, art 15
[6] Ibid
[7] Ibid
[8] Constitution of India 1950, art 15(6)
[9] Constitution of India 1950, art 15
[10] Ibid
[11] Parveen Kaur (n 1)
[12] Constitution of India 1950, art 15
[13] ‘Badaun Gangrape and Murder: How the Incident Unfolded’ (The Indian Express, 02 June 2014) <https://indianexpress.com/article/india/india-others/badaun-gangrape-and-murder-how-the-incident-unfolded/> accessed 02 February 2023
[14] Dr Sanjeev Kumar Chadha (n 2)
[15] Constitution of India 1950, art 15
[16] Ibid
