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On International Women’s Day 2018, 8 March, Dr Shashi Tharoor visited Home Minister Rajnath Singh’s office to discuss his proposal to make stalking a non-bailable offence.
The proposal was co-drafted by The Quint and Shashi Tharoor’s office.
The Home Minister has taken cognisance of the issue and has assured Dr Tharoor that he will look into the law and consider amending it.
As part of its #TalkingStalking campaign, The Quint – over the last few months – has been encouraging stalking survivors to come forward and share their stories.
Hoping to make a difference, we drafted a detailed proposal with senior advocate Kamini Jaiswal, arguing why our criminal laws need to be amended to make stalking a non-bailable offence. This change can help ensure stalking is taken more seriously. If stalkers are subjected to judicial scrutiny before being allowed out on bail, it can minimise the risk of further attacks on survivors.
Dr Shashi Tharoor agreed to work with us on this, and we drafted a Private Member’s Bill with his team – which has been submitted to the Parliament.
Stalking as a separate offence did not exist in the IPC till 2013. This necessarily affects any analysis of the statistics relating to stalking, as the National Crime Records Bureau (NCRB) only has statistical data for the years 2014-2016. Despite this, the data available paints an interesting picture about the nature of the crime and the way it is being dealt with in the country.
Sign our petition to make stalking a non-bailable offence here.
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Published: 08 Mar 2018,06:48 PM IST