Supreme Court issues notice on PIL to make awareness of anti-rape laws part of school syllabus

The Supreme Court on Friday issued notice in a Public Interest Litigation (PIL) seeking directions to raise awareness of anti-rape laws in schools and in society at large. [Aabad Harshad Ponda v. Union of India and Ors].A Bench of Chief Justice of India (CJI) DY Chandrachud and Justices JB Pardiwala and Manoj Misra issued notice on the plea filed by Senior Advocate Aabad Ponda..The PIL states that despite the existence of stringent anti-rape laws that are capable of having a deterrent effect, crimes against women are on the rise."Therefore, reacting to such situations by making the punishments for rape more stringent with a knee-jerk reaction is no solution to the problem," it states.It states that the element of justice lies in filling the gap of communication between the existence of the laws and the proper communication and dissemination of the laws to all sections of the society..Ponda has argued that while some states like Maharashtra, Andhra Pradesh and West Bengal are pushing for mandatory death sentences in cases of rape and murder, such measures may not be effective.Citing Supreme Court precedents, the petition raises doubts about the legality of harsh punishments, especially considering past rulings that have struck down mandatory death sentences as unconstitutional.The petition has stressed that stringent punishments alone, including life imprisonment or death sentences, do not address the root cause of the issue. Instead, the petition emphasises the need for addressing societal attitudes towards women, advocating for awareness and education to change the prevailing mindset that perpetuates inequality.The petition further warns that harsher laws may lead to unintended consequences, such as an increase in false accusations, thereby complicating the process of granting anticipatory or regular bail to those wrongly accused."The need of identifying the real cause of this crime is the first requirement. Once this is done, the next step would be to try to find measures to revolutionize the male mindset in the country amongst a large portion of the populace and instil in them the fear of the law," the plea states..In terms of directions to educational institutions and authorities, the plea makes the following prayers, among others: - Incorporate in the syllabus with/without the subject of sex education, the penal laws of the country relating to rape and other offences against women and children. - Moral training to ensure awareness on sexual equality, and endeavours to change the mindset of boys and men.- Take steps to educate the general public through advertisements, seminars, pamphlets and other modes about penal laws in the country relating to rape and other offences against women and children.- Put up advertisement, documentaries, short stories and or films and involve popular personalities to send messages about how there is zero tolerance to rape and also to highlight equality between girls and boys, men and women..The petition has been drawn and filed by Advocate Sandeep Sudhakar Deshmukh..Follow Bar and Bench channel on WhatsAppDownload the Bar and Bench Mobile app for instant access to the latest legal news.