The recent incident of a woman being pursued at night by men in a car in Chandigarh has brought up the issue of stalking to the fore.
Oppositions are getting stronger that the perpetrators should not have been let out on bail without due verification and interrogation.
What is the legislation with stalking in India?
Section 354D of the Indian Penal Code, which pertains to stalking, is a bailable offence.
As of now, the first offence of stalking is “bailable”, implying that the accused need not be produced before a court for seeking bail but can be relieved from a police station itself.
Any subsequent offence of stalking is ‘non-bailable', meaning court will have the discretion to grant bail to an accused.
The Justice Verma Committee, set up in 2012, had recommended that stalking be introduced as a non-bailable offence with one to three years in jail as punishment.
A Criminal Law Amendment Ordinance wanted every offence of stalking be considered as non-bailable. It however did not come into force due to opposition.
What are the problems in this regard?
There is an almost 50% rise in stalking cases but conviction rate is abysmally low.
The duration it takes for the police to file charge sheet for the offence that is bailable could lead to complainants losing the resolve to continue.
There are also instances of complainants being pressured into withdrawing the case.
Stalking is far too often dismissed as harmless. However, it is important to understand how traumatic and inhibiting it is for a woman to be pursued with uncalled-for interest.
Stalking, at times, contains the seeds for a bigger, often violent crime including murder and acid attack.
What is desired?
Law makers and the society should start understanding stalking as indeed a crime that requires swift punishment. Time-bound trial can help in more convictions.
However, the notion that expanding the rigour and scope of penal laws would bring down crimes against women has unfortunately not worked.
Evidently, the change is now needed in social attitude towards considering stalking as a mere annoyance.
It has to go to the level of respecting and valuing the honour and dignity of women and their choices.
