As we all know by now, the recent rape case at Kolkata’s R.G. Kar Medical College has reignited the demand for a special law or new legislation to protect female staff in hospitals. Over the past few years, we have witnessed how the government has enacted and amended rape laws in response to public outcry. From the Bhanwari Devi case, which resulted in the Supreme Court’s Vishakha Guidelines of 1997, through to Nirbhaya (2012), bringing sweeping and radical changes to criminal laws including amendments to Juvenile Justice Act where Justice Verma Committee recommendations were implemented.
However, these changes in the law have not stopped the rape cases numbers from increasing. A woman is sexually assaulted every 15 minutes across the country, according to a government report – and in 2022, police received 31,000 reports of rape. This is evident because the number of rape cases has not decreased, even with changing laws. Clearly, our legal system has not made an impression deterrent in society. But in such situations, who should be held accountable? Let’s take the recent R.G. Kar case as an example to discuss this problem. It was found that several corruption cases had been registered against the principal, Dr. Sandip Ghosh, yet no action was taken against him. Why? Despite allegations and evidence being presented to the appropriate authority, no steps were taken. In fact, those who filed complaints were threatened by government officials and transferred from R.G. Kar Hospital. This clearly indicates corruption and a misuse of the powers given to the executive body.
In India, the doctrine of the separation of powers is followed. This constitutional law doctrine divides government responsibilities into three branches: legislative, executive, and judicial. The goal is to prevent any one branch from having too much power and to provide checks and balances. Each branch is given certain powers to check and balance the others. However, in reality, we see a dominance and overlapping of power, undermining this principle. Considering this recent case when it mentioned by the legislature that the medical college has to follow certain guidelines for their staff and patients when why there is no check system in the medical institutions? Its compulsory for everyone to follow Vishakha Guidelines in the workplace but how many institutions or workplace are actually following this guideline strictly. In the judiciary, for instance, the Criminal Law Amendment Act of 2013 mandates that trials for certain offenses must be completed within two months of the chargesheet being filed. The Act also requires that trials be held daily, with adjournments allowed only for compelling reasons that must be recorded. However, the pressing question remains: how many cases have actually been resolved within this timeframe? In rape cases, the victim and her family are repeatedly traumatized—not just by the crime itself but also by society, the media, the police, and the judiciary. Even if justice is eventually served, they often find that half of their lives and finances have been consumed by court fees, leaving them in a state of despair.
When the accused comes from an influential family, as in the Jessica Lal murder case, the pursuit of justice can become even more prolonged. If we truly want to control crime in our society, we must enforce a proper separation of powers and, to do that, we must first tackle corruption. Corruption is the root cause of society’s apathy, where people believe that filing a case or protesting is futile because no one will hear their plea. Even if they manage to file a case, they are often pressured to withdraw it or threatened by goons.
This is the current reality in India. The situation cannot be changed merely by enacting new laws; it requires proper implementation and execution of existing ones. In light of the recent R.G. Kar case, it’s time for a mass feminist movement—one where every woman, whether working or not, student or not, regardless of caste, creed, religion, or marital status, raises her voice against corruption, the system, and those responsible for our protection who fail to fulfil their duties. It’s time for another “Me Too movement” but this time it should be a “Safety Movement in the Workplace”. With this movement, women and female students from all sectors across India can highlight security issues they face in their workplaces so that by gathering information from their grievances, government considers can frames uniform laws and policies regarding workplace safety.
Dr. Pyali Chatterjee, HOD, Assistant Professor, Faculty of Law, ICFAI University, Raipur, Chhattisgarh, India
