Days after a 19-year-old woman in UP’s Hathras was gang-raped and killed, the pressure to ensure the safety of women across the country and especially in Uttar Pradesh has mounted on Modi Administration.
Owing nationwide protests against the government’s negligence and administration’s failure to protect women’s dignity, opposition and layman are demanding fast trials and better policing to curb such heinous crimes.
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Along the same lines, the Union Ministry of home affairs on Saturday released strict advisory reminding states and union territories that it is mandatory for all police stations to file FIRs (in relation to rape) irrespective of the fact whether the crime has happened within their police station’s ‘area’ or not.
The Code of Criminal Procedure binds police to register FIR or a “Zero FIR” (when the case is outside the jurisdiction of the police station) in the event of receipt of the information on the commission of a cognizable offence, which includes cases of sexual assault on women.
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The centre added that “failure of police to adhere to these mandatory requirements may not augur well for the delivery of criminal justice in the country, especially in context of women safety.”
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Failing to report cases and taking necessary action would be an invitation to “stringent action” under “Section 166 A(c) of the Indian Penal Code 1860 (IPC) provides for punishment to a public servant for failure to record FIR in relation to cognizable offences punishable under section 326A, Section 326B, Section 354, Section 354B, Section 370, Section 370A, Section 376, Section 376A, Section 376AB, Section 376B, Section 376C, Section 376D, Section 376DA, Section 376DB, Section 376E or Section 509 in IPC.”
