India, as we know, is a land of diversity and culture which as per the mythological readings, places a high status on women by considering them as a reincarnation of a Goddess. They are also regarded as a savior of customs, traditions and beliefs which can be evidently seen in the case when a mother passes on moral education and learnings to the next generation. But, are we really abiding and upholding the value system imbibed in us by the scriptures that dictate major portions and events of our lives?
This dog-eat-dog world that we live in, is full of obstacles with a continuum of issues disturbing the peace of everyone and/or disrupting social order (Crowell, 2013). At such a point, discussions pertaining to deviance and crime arise. Society is predominantly known for its ever evolving and adapting nature alongside the passage of time. Owing to this dynamic nature, the values and beliefs held also go through a makeshift change from time to time. When people fail to adapt to these changes, the problem arises. Terms like deviance and crime are often considered to be highly subjective and vary from the viewpoint of one society to another.
Deviance can be explained as any behavior or act that departs from social norms. In other words, that which goes against the values, norms or beliefs held by the society in question; while crime, on the other hand, is any action which violates the law of the land (Siegel, 2006). Both, deviance and crime, to a considerable extent serve as a mirror of the society as it exemplifies the thought processes and frameworks in which that society is constructed (Coomber, Donnermeyer, McElrath, & Scott, 2014).
Every crime constitutes a victim as well as a perpetrator. We are often surrounded by instances where a female victim has been subjected to a ruthless male offender; which is also supported by statistical data records. However, it does not negate the fact that females too can commit crimes. It can be factually seen that serious offences like murder are usually committed by men, whereas minor crimes like substance abuse or cheating can be committed by both men and women, alike. The degree, intensity and extent of violence severely differs in men and women (epg pathshala, n.d.). There are various disciplines which have made a conscious effort to understand female criminality, better, namely: criminology, psychology and sociology among others.
Prominent criminologists namely, Cesare Lombroso and William Ferrero authored, “The Female Offender”, 1895, which gives a deep insight about female criminality, in general. As stated in the book, they suggested that women are more likely to display the characteristics of an occasional criminal (Bhosle, 2009). Lombroso viewed the born female criminal have the criminal qualities of men and the worst ones of women; however, in India, criminality amongst women is attempted to understand as a result of social and economic scarcity as opposed to, certain biological throwbacks (Mili & Cherian, 2015). Freda Adler, in her book, “The Rise of the New Female Criminals”, 1975, attempts to explain the involvement of women in crimes against property by emphasizing on the masculinity behavior of females. The masculinization theory did however, receive criticisms owing to their male-centrism ideology of understanding female criminality (Islam, Banarjee, & Khatun, 2014).
From a psychological perspective, female offenders are known to be devoid of emotional stability and more prone to insecurity, rejection and frustration. Unbearable living conditions, societal pressure, stress, family concerns, financial dependence, social status, etc. may compel women to subdue their inner most feelings and emotions, which may possibly be negatively channelized into unpredictable anger, which in certain cases may result in violence, too (Mili & Cherian, 2015). This can be theoretically backed up by the works of Meda-Chesney Lind in her book, “The Female Offender”, 1986 where she elaborately explains the marginalization theory. This theory states that the victimization or marginality (lower class position; low income; inadequate job; harassment by family) of a woman may provoke her to commit a crime in the modern society (Islam, Banarjee, & Khatun, 2014). Discussing psychological matters in India, is not well looked upon, aggravating the issue further.
Besides, a range of social factors may also influence our understanding of female criminality in India. Some of them being: inequality, poverty, lack of education, gender discrimination, strained relations with spouse or family, denial of basic needs of life or social oppression may also serve as motivating factors (Pattanaik & Mishra, 2001).
The supposed association between poverty and female criminality has been adequately emphasized in certain judicial judgements like: in the case of Shreerangyee v. State of Madras 1972, the accused was a hardworking but unfortunate woman who was deserted by her husband. She had five children and was unable to support them due to lack of adequate earning. Her financial position further worsened when her youngest child was diagnosed with a severe illness and the doctor demanded for money for the treatment. She tried to raise the funds, but in vain. Having exhausted all the legitimate means to earn a living, she, in exasperation, killed all her five children by drowning them and then herself jumped into the well. She was, however, rescued and convicted, under Section 302 IPC for killing her children. The Court in this case also ruled out poverty as an excuse for the murder of innocent children and attempt to suicide (Ghosh, n.d.).
Among the different types of crime committed by women, the one gaining tremendous amount of attention is that of false accusations, i.e. wrongly accusing a person to have committed a crime. If an individual is correctly accused of an offense, it serves them right to face the consequences that follow its path; however the flip side of it lies in cases where a person is falsely accused of a wrongdoing, that results in a huge toll on their reputation, putting them through a severe emotional turmoil and can also negatively impact their personal as well as professional lives.
This could be in the case of dowry, rape, molestation, casting couch, harassment, domestic violence or even cheating. This issue can be considered as an essential one to deal with, by criminologists as such women tend to take undue advantage of the law that strives to protect them, in totality. These nature of events have been noticed in more or less all sectors, be it household, corporate workplace, educational institutions or the media industry. A practical instance in support of the statements mentioned above, is in the form of Section 498A of the Indian Penal Code, 1860. The section was introduced in the year 1983, with special regard to the increasing cruelty (use of verbal and/or physical abuse) towards married women on the hands of the husband and/or his family members and providing them with the requisite legal protection. However, over the years, with rising cases of this section being misused, the Supreme Court observed that it was being used as weapons rather than a shield by disgruntled wives. (Ray, 2018).
There are a number of cases that have circulated like wild fire featuring women who have falsely accused men on many grounds. One such case being that of Nisha Sharma and Munish Dalal in May, 2003 in Noida. Nisha had accused her to-be-groom and his family of demanding a sum of Rs. 12 lakh as dowry and a car; post which, Munish, his mother and paternal aunt were arrested, on the grounds of dowry harassment. They were unfortunately made to visit the Court for hearings, nearly 320 times and after a 10 year long ordeal, were finally acquitted from the false allegations made by the complainant (Vashishtha, 2012).
Such cases do being along with them a series of problems for the wrongly accused member or members of a family: loss of existing job, difficulty in finding a new one, immense stigma and labels attached, loss of respect within the community, psychological concerns: loss of appetite, insomnia, anxiety, depression, and in extreme cases also end their lives in the aftermath of these baseless accusations. The excessive misuse of the anti-dowry law to threaten the groom and his family, has compelled the Supreme Court to term such conduct as “legal terrorism”.
As of August 23, 2015, Jasleen Kaur, a student of St. Stephen’s College, New Delhi, accused a man, Sarvjeet Singh, for passing lewd comments and molesting her, while she was volunteering to control the traffic at a nearby signal. The former’s post on her Facebook handle, caused a lot of stir resulting in the arrest of Singh. Within no time, Kaur became popular and was praised by both the common masses as well as those in authority, for her courageous stand. Soon, the tables turned and on questioning, an eyewitness validated Sarvjeet’s innocence and testified against Jasleen for misbehaving and abusing the man (Surendran, 2016).
An infamous case that sadly did not reach the masses was that of a 22 year old Aman Baisla, based in Delhi, in October 2020. He committed suicide, as he was threatened with false allegation of rape. He posted a live video on Facebook and Instagram to explain how a girl had taken about 12.5 lakhs and when he asked to return, she threatened him of false rape charges and asked for more money instead. This shocking incident caused outrage among the public, however, no media aired this on any news channels.
As a criminologist, it is significant to consider all prospects and more importantly, acknowledge the contribution of social media in shaping society’s perception about a case. The most recent example being that on March 9, 2021 of the Zomato delivery man, named Kamaraj and a girl, named Hitesha Chandranee, who is a Bengaluru-based content creator and model.
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She resorted to Instagram and posted a video accusing the delivery in-charge of physical assault, insult and criminal intimidation. In a series of investigation, it was concluded she had falsely accused Kamaraj and an FIR was filed against her, under Section 355, 504 and 506 of the IPC (Jagran News Desk, 2021).
The media landscape, be it in the form of print, audio-visual, or even digital for that matter, is in a state of constant flux. Media is often regarded as the fourth pillar of democracy and can play a significant role in creating awareness of the laws and the consequences of filing fake cases against the innocent who is accused. They can considerably help in combating this menace by bringing to light, the cases of people involved in such acts, improve literacy among the masses, in this specific arena and in turn, open space for a stream like investigative journalism, to flourish, as well.
All in all, tackling cases of false accusations is undoubtedly the need of the hour which can be substantiated by the rising number of cases in India. This increasing hazard, which can harm society’s fabric and abuse of law for different purposes, needs to be regulated early. It becomes highly crucial to identify, rectify and moreover, spread awareness about this matter so as to not punish an innocent person. The idea that policy recommendations may be focused on inaccurate data does also present a challenge, since such data could contribute to needless or mistaken criminal justice changes (Rawat Rani & Maharshi, 2020). It is high time that we tackle this issue effectively, because in the course of these false claims, the genuine victims may have a hard time trying to seek justice.
References:
Bhosle, S. (2009). Female Crime in India and Theoretical Perspectives of Crime. Kalpaz Publications. Retrieved March 2021, from https://www.google.co.in/books/edition/Female_Crime_in_India_and_Theoretical_Pe/v22H2izsiHUC?hl=en&gbpv=0
Coomber, R., Donnermeyer, J. F., McElrath, K., & Scott, J. (2014). Key Concepts in Crime and Society. SAGE Publications. Retrieved March 2021, from https://www.google.co.in/books/edition/Key_Concepts_in_Crime_and_Society/6JXgBQAAQBAJ?hl=en&gbpv=1&dq=key+concepts+in+crime+and+society&printsec=frontcover
Crowell, E. L. (2013, March). Sociological Theories of Deviance: Definitions and Theoretical Perspectives. Retrieved March 2021, from www.study.com: https://study.com/academy/lesson/sociological-theories-of-deviance-definitions-and-theoretical-perspectives.html
epg pathshala. (n.d.). Gender related crime. Retrieved March 2021, from www.epgp.inflibnet.ac.in: https://epgp.inflibnet.ac.in/Home/ViewSubject?catid=1608
Ghosh, P. (n.d.). Essay on ‘Criticism of Konger’s Theory’. Retrieved March 2021, from www.shareyouressays.com: https://www.shareyouressays.com/essays/essay-on-criticism-of-kongers-theory-1816-words/121488
Jagran News Desk. (2021, March). Zomato delivery boy Kamaraj files case against Hitesha Chandranee for false accusation. Retrieved March 2021, from www.english.jagran.com: https://english.jagran.com/india/zomato-delivery-boy-kamaraj-files-case-against-bengaluru-woman-hitesha-chandranee-for-false-accusation-10024516#:~:text=The%20alleged%20incident%20happened%20on,punching%20her%20on%20the%20nose.
Mili, P., & Cherian, N. S. (2015). Female Criminality in India: Prevalence, Causes and Preventive Measures. International Journal of Criminal Justice Sciences, 12. Retrieved March 2021, from https://www.sascv.org/ijcjs/pdfs/milietalijcjs2015vol10issue1.pdf
Pattanaik, J. K., & Mishra, N. N. (2001, September). Social Change and Female Criminality in India. Retrieved March 2021, from www.researchgate.net: https://www.researchgate.net/publication/258185546_Social_change_and_female_criminality_in_India
Rawat Rani, A., & Maharshi, D. A. (2020). A Study on Rising Amount of Fake Rape Cases in India. PalArch’s Journal of Archaeology of Egypt/ Egyptology. Retrieved March 2021, from https://www.archives.palarch.nl/index.php/jae/article/download/5923/5893
Siegel, L. J. (2006). Criminology- Theories, Patterns and Typologies (Ninth ed.). Thomson Wadsworth. Retrieved from https://books.google.co.in/books?id=umgEFec4U4YC&pg=PR1&dq=criminology+by+larry+j+siegel+ninth+edition&hl=en&sa=X&ved=0ahUKEwjNjcX-hLTpAhXVxzgGHY4tCPMQ6AEIMDAB#v=onepage&q=criminology%20by%20larry%20j%20siegel%20ninth%20edition&f=false
Islam, M. J., Banarjee, S., & Khatun, N. (2014). Theories of Female Criminality: A Criminological Analysis. International Journal of Criminology and Sociological Theory. Retrieved March 2021, from https://www.researchgate.net/publication/334113027_Theories_of_Female_Criminality_A_criminological_analysis
Ray, K. A. (2018, October). Section 498A Of IPC: A Weapon Or A Shield? – Supreme Court Of India. Retrieved April 2021, from www.mondaq.com: https://www.mondaq.com/india/crime/743068/section-498a-of-ipc-a-weapon-or-a-shield-supreme-court-of-india
Surendran, V. (2016, November). Remember Jasleen Kaur case? Accused Sarvjeet Singh talks about how false complaints ruin men’s lives in India. Retrieved April 2021, from www.indiatoday.in: https://www.indiatoday.in/fyi/story/jasleen-kaur-sarvjeet-singh-kundan-srivastava-false-accusation-354200-2016-11-27