Supreme Court will Monday hear a PIL filed by Supreme Court Women Lawyers Association (SCWLA) seeking ‘pan India safety guidelines, reforms and measures for protection of women’ and among the demands are castration of all those convicted for sexual offences
Contending that easy access to porn has a direct link with spurt in sexual offences across the country, SCWLA called for a complete ban on online pornography and unfiltered obscenity on OTT platforms.
“The heart-wrenching incident of gangrape-cum-murder of a 31 year old trainee doctor in Kolkata’s R G Kar Medical College has shaken the collective conscience of the country to the core and shows that nothing has improved since 2012 Nirbhaya case”, says the PIL filed by SCWLA General Secretary Prernaa Singh and settled by Senior Advocate and SCWLA President Mahalakshmi Pavani.
The PIL will be heard by a Bench of Justices Surya Kant and Ujjal Bhuyan
“SCWLA seeks indulgence of the court for the issuance of Pan India safety Guidelines,Reforms and Measures fo r protection of women”, it says.
SCWLA also demands chemical castration as a punishment to all convicts for sexual offences against women and children, permanent castration for convicts sentenced to life imprisonment and death penalty”, it said.
The PIL also seeks making installation of CCTVs mandatory in every workplace,Complete ban on unrestricted free online pornography, Fast track trial of all cases pertaining to rape and sexual harassment of women, says MPs/MLAs accused of crimes against women should not be allowed to contest elections until an acquittal order is passed
“We are deeply shocked, traumatized, agonized and pained by the recent spurt of crimes against women, girls and infants, who come from various walks of life, caste, class and age which were reported in Kolkata, Bihar, Rajasthan, Uttar Pradesh, Maharashtra and other parts of India at the hands of brutal, insensitive perverted perpetrators, and Sexual nymphomaniac, pedophiles offenders”, the SCWLA said.
“These incidents have shaken our collective conscience to the core. While the women of the nation feel insecure and unsafe, no quantum of stringent, deterrent, laws seem to be working as therefore, we urge that there must be a complete and effective ban on public viewing and unfiltered of online pornography the obscenity on OTT platforms country”, the Association added.
“The Petitioner beseeches this Hon’ble Court to invoke the doctrine of parens patriae to safeguard the fundamental rights of women, children and the third gender in our nation, which encompass their right to safety, a secure workplace, adequate sanitation, personal dignity, bodily integrity, and a safe environment. It is humbly submitted that the Court bears an overarching obligation under the doctrine of parens patriae to serve as the protector and steward of its citizens’ rights,” says the PIL.