Law Students Approach Supreme Court To Ask For Gender Neutral Provisions On Sexual Offences

BACKGROUND FACTS

• Two law students, Anam Kamil and Shrikant Prasad, have alleged that the Indian Penal Code has more woman favoring laws.
• They have moved to the Supreme Court seeking directions for amending and reconsidering the provisions under the Indian Penal Code and to make them 'gender neutral'.

RELATED PROVISIONS

The following provisions are put to question in the plea.

• Section 354 of IPC: This section states that whoever, with the intention of outraging the modesty of woman, assaults or uses criminal force shall be punished with two years of imprisonment or fine or both.
• Section 376 of IPC: It defines the punishment for rape against woman.
• Section 506 of IPC: It lays down the punishment for criminal intimidation.
• Section 509 of IPC: It states that anyone, who with the intention for insulting the modesty of any woman, utters any word, or makes any sound or gesture, shall be punished.
• Section 498A of IPC: This section states that husband or relative of husband of a woman who subjects her to any cruelty shall be imprisoned or be liable to fine.

ARGUMENTS BY THE PETITIONER

• The petitioners have put forth the argument that such provisions are discriminatory on the ground of gender and they affect the fundamental right to equality of men thus, violating Article 14 and 15(1) of the Constitution.
• They contended that these laws were made 150 years ago when there was actually need of such laws for the upliftment of women but today such laws are not needed as women are developed and empowered.
• They alleged that in today's era of social media,women are intentionally assaulting and brutally attacking menwhile her companion is making video clips to make it viral on social media.
• With these acts, the dignity, respect, honor, and career of the innocent boys, who get stuck with such fake feminists,are completely finished.
• Further, they have compared the impugned laws with decriminalization of consensual gay sex and homosexuality in 2018, and said that it is high time that the legislature must recognize the crimes of cruelty and harassment being committed against males.

THE PLEA STATES

The plea has made the following statements.

• They stated that the country has been polluted by fake feminism. Innocent men are being attacked to gain public attraction.
• Women are intentionally assaulting men and destroying their dignity and respect.
• The law is providing women with sharp edged weapon like power without any reasonable restriction.
• They cited the recent case from Lucknow where a girl slapped a cab driver. Referring to this the petitioner argued that the 'trend of misuse' of sexual offence related laws by women is on the rise, 'which is sabotaging the respect, honor and the dignity of men'.
• In the present scenario, women are not weaker and are no longer oppressed, the plea stated.
• The petitioner put forth the question that, what about a man who was charged with the offence of rape and is later proven innocent? Will society treat him the same way as they used to do before he was trapped in a false case? The answer is no.

DO YOU THINK MEN SHOULD GET JUSTICE?