No FIR? Cops face jail on crime against women

Worried over reports that FIRs were not being filed in cases of crime against women, the Centre has asked the state governments to be proactive and warned police officers of jail term if they do not follow rules.

The Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) recently sent letters to states asking them to conduct refresher courses for police personnel to increase awareness and compliance with law regarding registration of cases without delay in crime against women.

Registration of FIR is “obligatory” in the event of receipt of information on commission of a cognizable offence, which includes sexual assaults on women, under Section 154 of the Code of Criminal Procedure (CrPC). The new amendments to CrPC also provide for completion of police probe within two months in rape cases.

The MHA warned that Section 166A(c) provides for rigorous imprisonment for six months to two years with fine for failing to record cases of crime against women.

According to law, FIRs should be compulsorily filed when offences like acid-throwing, outraging modesty of women, sexual exploitation and rapes are reported.

“Even with the provisions in law being in place, certain instances reported recently point to the failure of police in some states/union territories to adhere to these legal provisions.” MHA’s letter said.

“This may not auger well for the delivery of criminal justice in the country, especially in the context of women safety,” the letter said.

To ensure safety and security of women, the government has come up with a series of measures which includes the operationalisation of a National Registry of Sex Offenders, which was rolled out in September last year. Maintained by the National Crime Records Bureau (NCRB), the registry has exhaustive details about those arrested and charge-sheeted as well as those convicted for sexual offences.

It is also looking for a sophisticated tool to crawl online space with least human intervention to identify child pornography and revenge porn and curb its further distribution.

The NCRB has been entrusted with the task of carrying out proactive monitoring of the internet and taking pre-emptive action to curb further distribution, circulation and misuse of obscene content under the ‘Cyber-Crime Prevention Against Women and Children’ scheme.