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Registry of sex offenders: 4.4 lakh names in all, 3000 identified in Delhi since 1995

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Registry of sex offenders: 4.4 lakh names in all, 3000 identified in Delhi since 1995

India became the ninth country in world to maintain a dedicated database on sexual offenders with the Centre on Thursday rolling out a National Registry of Sexual Offenders (NRSO), a massive database of convicted sexual offenders from across the nation.

Other countries to maintain a database of sexual offenders are USA, United Kingdom, Australia, Canada, Ireland, New Zealand, South Africa and Trinidad and Tobago. Except for US, the date of convicted sex offenders is purely for the consumption of the law enforcement authorities. US is the only country to keep its database in public domain even as the demand to review the policy grows.

India too has said that the database will remain accessible to law enforcement agencies only.

The database will have personal details, including residential address, fingerprints, photo-identification, Aadhaar numbers, DNA sample and PAN number of not only convicted criminals but also of those accused of the crime or against whom an FIR is registered.

However, the details of arrested and chargesheeted offenders can be accessed only by officers with the requisite clearance, The Indian Express reported.

The government is also mulling over introducing the list of juvenile offenders, the newspaper reported. But a final decision on the same will be taken at a later time.

The decision to set up the database was taken in April following nationwide outrage over cases of sexual assault on minors, including the rape and murder of an eight-year-old girl in J&K’s Kathua.

The Union Cabinet had subsequently promulgated the Criminal Law Ordinance, 2018, for the death penalty to be handed out to those convicted of raping children below 12 years.

With the launch of this database, the Government hopes to convey the message ahead of elections next year that the safety of women and children is its top priority. Recently, it set up a National Mission for the Safety of Women, headed by the Union Cabinet Secretary, to undertake specified actions, including setting up Special Fast Track Courts, strengthening forensic facilities, appointing additional public prosecutors, and providing appropriate medical and rehabilitation facilities to victims.

The National Crime Records Bureau (NCRB) will be tasked to maintain the database and profile of sexual offenders over the past fifteen years, with details from jails across the country.

According to NCRB, there has been a three per cent increase in crimes against women and a 12 per cent rise in rapes in 2016, as compared to 2015. As many as 38,947 rape cases were registered in 2016, up from 34,651 in 2015. Overall, cases of crimes against women rose from 3,29,243 in 2015 to 3,38,954 in 2016, according to NCRB.

India has one-fifth of the world’s child population and unfortunately, also has the largest number of child sexual abuse cases registered in the world. According to government figures released in December 2017, a child is sexually abused every 15 minutes.

Following the US style, the database classifies offenders based on the ‘severity of threat’ they pose to the society. According to The Hindu, the data will be stored for 15 years in the case of those who pose a low danger, 25 years for those posing “moderate danger” and lifetime for “habitual offenders, violent criminals, convicts in gangrape and custodial rapes.”

Move gets support from WCD ministry, child and women rights’ groups

There have been instances in the past where convicted sexual offenders have committed the crime multiple times only because there was no central registry maintaining records.

Union Minister of Women and Child Development Maneka Gandhi has been a long-time advocate of such a register. When the 38-year-old Sunil Rastogi was arrested earlier this year for raping and sexually assaulting minors, he confessed to the cops that he had assaulted around 500 girls in the states of Delhi, Uttar Pradesh and Uttarakhand. Rastogi was arrested, jailed and then released only to repeat this crime. Union minister Maneka Gandhi lamented that if an SOR was in place, many of Rastogi’s crime could have been prevented, said report on news portal Firstpost.

Gandhi pointed out that the listing of names of sexual offenders and placing it in the public domain would definitely act as a deterrent.

Sunita Krishna, who runs the NGO Prajwala which claims it has rescued and rehabilitated more than 10,000 rape victims, told Firstpost that she suppports the move. She believes only “the public naming and shaming of offenders” will stop this sharp increase in rape.

Nobel laureate Kailash Satyarthi had also urged the government to push for a registry of sexual offenders, propagating the ‘name and shame’ approach in dealing with sexual predators.  “Name and shame them. Sexual offenders should not be accepted as employees anywhere,” he had said in the past.

Experts point out flaws in system, say move will discourage victims from reporting crime

“Government statistics (in the US) indicate that most sexual abuse of children is committed by family members or trusted authority figures, and by someone who has not previously been convicted of a sex offence. In India, too, children are often sexually abused by people known to them and regarded as authority figures. The government must ensure implementation of existing measures…including enforcement of the POCSO Act,” Jayshree Bajoria, author of Human Rights Watch report documenting barriers to justice for sexual assault survivors in India, told PTI.

Activists in India say that the talk of these lists is a knee-jerk reaction to cases such as the Kathua and Unnao rape cases, both of which involved minor victims, and is intended to satisfy the public rage against sexual abuse by strangers.

“If it is a family member, a person known to the family of the victim, which is true in most cases in India, will this work? I have my doubts. The registry operates most aggressively in the US. However, there is very little evidence in that country to show that it has helped to prevent sexual assaults against children,” said Supreme Court advocate KV Dhananjay.

Speaking to Hindustan Times, Apar Gupta, a lawyer who works on privacy issues, even opined that there is no empirical evidence to support that the law actually helped bring down crime in countries where it has been existence for over a decade.

“Many international studies have shown that instead of preventing repeat offences, maintaining such a database has an adverse affect as person accused of sex crime does not have any incentive to reform. His identity as a rapist is established for life even after he has completed his sentence,” he said.

India News

Supreme Court questions Centre on inclusion of non-Muslims in Waqf Council

The Supreme Court on Tuesday posed tough questions to the Centre regarding the Waqf Amendment Act, particularly its stance on religious representation and land classification provisions.

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The Supreme Court of India, during a hearing on petitions challenging the Waqf Amendment Act, raised pointed questions to the Central government, specifically regarding the inclusion of non-Muslims in the Central Waqf Council. The bench asked whether a reciprocal arrangement—such as allowing Muslims to be part of Hindu religious boards—would be acceptable.

A bench headed by Chief Justice Sanjiv Khanna, along with Justices Sanjay Kumar and KV Vishwanathan, was hearing 73 petitions questioning the constitutional validity of the amended Waqf Act. The new legislation has been the subject of protests in various regions, mainly due to its redefined provisions, including the controversial concept of ‘Waqf by user’.

At the beginning of the session, the Chief Justice sought clarity from the petitioners on two fronts: whether the case should be sent to a High Court and what specific legal arguments they aimed to raise in the Supreme Court.

Senior Advocate Kapil Sibal, representing one of the petitioners, argued that several provisions of the amended law infringe upon Article 26 of the Indian Constitution, which guarantees the right to manage one’s own religious affairs. He particularly criticized the extensive powers granted to the Collector under the new framework. According to Sibal, the Collector, being a government functionary, cannot also serve a quasi-judicial role, as it undermines the principle of separation of powers.

He also raised objections to the ‘Waqf by user’ provision—where a property may be declared as Waqf based solely on prolonged religious or charitable use, without formal documentation. While the amended Act now exempts disputed or government lands from being automatically classified as Waqf, the clause remains contentious.

The court’s query about the possible inclusion of Muslims on Hindu religious boards drew attention to what it called a lack of parity in religious governance. The top court hinted at the need for a balanced and non-discriminatory approach if religious representation is to be redefined through legislative changes.

The matter continues to evolve, with the Supreme Court yet to decide whether it will take up the entire batch of petitions or refer them to a High Court.

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21 police personnel injured in mob violence during Nashik dargah demolition

21 police officers were injured and 15 people detained after violence erupted during a high court-directed demolition of an unauthorised dargah in Nashik’s Kathe Galli area.

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Police vehicles damaged during Nashik demolition violence

In a violent turn of events during an anti-encroachment drive, 21 police personnel sustained injuries and three police vehicles were damaged in Nashik’s Kathe Galli area late Tuesday night. The incident occurred when a mob resisted the demolition of the unauthorised Satpeer Baba Dargah, which was being removed in compliance with a Bombay High Court directive.

Police resort to teargas and lathi-charge to restore order

According to Nashik Police Commissioner Sandeep Karnik, the situation escalated when a large crowd assembled at Usmania Chowk to oppose the dargah’s removal. The trustees of the religious structure had already begun the process of dismantling the structure earlier that night, but the gathering quickly turned violent, with stone-pelting directed at police and community leaders attempting to calm the crowd.

To disperse the mob, police deployed mild force, including lathi-charge and teargas shells. Despite the violence, authorities brought the situation under control by early morning, and the dargah was successfully removed around 6 am on Wednesday.

15 detained, 57 motorcycles seized; FIR process underway

Deputy Commissioner of Police Kirankumar Chavan confirmed that 15 individuals have been detained in connection with the violence. Additionally, 57 motorcycles believed to belong to suspects have been seized. An FIR is being filed against those responsible for the attacks.

Nearly 50 municipal personnel from the Nashik Municipal Corporation (NMC) participated in the demolition, aided by four excavators, six trucks, and two dumpers. Civic officials stated that the drive was a continuation of previous actions taken in February, during which several unauthorised structures around the dargah were removed.

Tensions over the site

The Satpeer Baba Dargah had been at the center of local controversy, with some residents and members of Hindu outfits previously demanding its removal, claiming it was an illegal structure. Nashik Central MLA Devyani Pharande had also raised concerns, stating that earlier demolition efforts were incomplete and that the site should be entirely cleared.

As of now, police officials report that the situation in the area remains peaceful and under control.

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National Herald row reignites BJP-Congress face-off amid ED chargesheet

BJP has reignited its attack on the Gandhi family, accusing them of a corporate conspiracy in the National Herald case, while Congress dismisses the ED action as a political vendetta by the Modi government.

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A political slugfest has erupted once again between the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and the Congress following the Enforcement Directorate’s (ED) chargesheet naming Sonia Gandhi and Rahul Gandhi in the alleged money laundering case tied to the now-defunct National Herald newspaper. The BJP has termed the case a textbook example of “corporate conspiracy,” while the Congress has decried the move as an act of “political vendetta” by the Narendra Modi-led central government.

BJP questions Gandhi family’s property acquisition through Young India Ltd

Senior BJP leader Ravi Shankar Prasad, addressing a press briefing, accused the Congress of orchestrating a corporate arrangement to transfer property into the Gandhi family’s hands. He highlighted that in 2008, after the National Herald ceased publication, the Congress gave ₹90 crore to Associated Journals Limited (AJL), the newspaper’s publisher — a transaction he claims violates the norms as political parties are barred from funding private entities.

AJL reportedly failed to repay the loan, after which a non-profit entity, Young India Limited (YIL) — in which Sonia and Rahul Gandhi each hold a 38% stake — acquired the company’s shares and, by extension, its properties across several Indian cities. Mr. Prasad questioned YIL’s charitable work and highlighted that a token amount of ₹50 lakh was paid to AJL before the remaining loan was written off.

“This is the Gandhi model of development,” Prasad said, alleging that the arrangement enabled the Gandhi family to take control of property worth thousands of crores.

BJP expands attack to Robert Vadra

The BJP leader also took aim at Priyanka Gandhi Vadra’s husband, Robert Vadra, citing alleged irregularities in land transactions. “Another member buys land for ₹3 crore and sells it for ₹58 crore. The country should learn from this Gandhi model,” he remarked sarcastically.

Congress fights back, terms case a political smokescreen

The Congress has launched protests across the country in response to the BJP’s remarks and the ED’s chargesheet. Senior leader Pawan Khera likened the current actions to pre-Independence times, stating, “Back then, the British hated National Herald, the Gandhi family and the Congress — today the RSS has taken that place.”

Calling the case baseless, Congress leader Sachin Pilot said, “There has been no exchange of funds or transfer of property rights. This case is politically motivated, and the Modi government is attempting to silence the voice of the Opposition.” He affirmed that the party has full faith in the judiciary and will fight the case legally.

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