‘One in 4 rape cases led to conviction’

NCRB data for 2016 show that conviction rate for Delhi was slightly better at 29%

One out of four rape cases registered in India led to conviction of the rapist last year, latest data from the National Crime Records Bureau (NCRB) revealed.

Out of a total 18,552 rape cases decided by various courts in India in 2016, the State was able to secure conviction in only 4,739 cases. In Delhi, the conviction rate for rape cases hovered around 29.7% in 2015, which was better than the national average.

‘Cops short of resources’

Explaining the low conviction rate in rape cases, advocate and child rights activist advocate Anant Kumar Asthana told The Hindu that the Delhi police do not have the “resources, skill and time to match the standard of probe required to prove the case in courts”.

“Short of manpower, our police officers are overworked. Each investigating officer ends up handling five or more cases at a given time leading to compromise in quality,” Mr. Asthana added.

He further said that the police force has not kept pace with the huge changes in the laws that have been brought in India in recent years, citing the examples of changes in rape laws under Criminal Law (Amendment) Act 2013, and Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act.

Advocate Meera Bhatia — who is assisting the Delhi high court as amicus curiae in a case initiated after the December 16, 2012, gang rape case to improve safety of women in the city — told The Hindu that lack of counselling facilities and support led to witnesses turning hostile in many cases.

“In other times, the girl or the rape victim don’t want to pursue with any court proceeding. She just wants to have closure,” Mr. Bhatia said, adding that “the trauma of a trial ambling on is too much for many victims”.

He said that in many cases, victims from a poor background chooses or are coerced by their family to agree to a compromise with the accused.