New Delhi: In a bid to deter sexual assault against women, Government is considering expanding the definition of rape to include certain objectionable acts within its purview.
Another new provision in the Bill for this purpose, to be introduced during the monsoon session of Parliament, will be to make sexual assault "gender neutral" - meaning that men and women could be punished for such an offence, a senior official said on Sunday.
The Bill will amend Section 375 of the Indian Penal Code, dealing with the definition of rape, and Section 376, which prescribes punishment, to include offenses like forced oral sex, insertion of an artificial object without consent and touching a woman's private parts against her wishes.
At present, penetration against will constitutes sexual intercourse amounting to rape.
"The draft Bill is almost ready and will be taken to the Union Cabinet for its approval before introduction in Parliament," the official said.
These moves to reform the criminal justice system have been initiated by Home Minister Shivraj Patil, "who is keen to tone up the investigating machinery, strengthening the prosecution system and safeguard the interests of women", he said.
The official, however, said that punishment for rape, which now varies from a seven-year jail term to life imprisonment, is unlikely to be changed.
He said several suggestions to prevent sexual assaults on women have been given by the Law Commission and the National Commission for Women and many of them have been incorporated in the draft Bill.
Under the new provision, separate clauses were being introduced to deal with sexual offences committed by security force personnel, including the armed forces, as also those deputed in hospitals and educational institutions, besides assaults on children.
A fresh look is also being taken at the issue of "consent" of a woman, a provision which has been used often by the defence in a case of sexual assault in an attempt to get an accused absolved.
"The Bill is aimed at clearly defining various forms of sexual assault and widening the ambit of the offence of rape to ensure that an accused does not go scot free," the official said, observing that the issue of age of consent is also been looked into.
As part of the Government's efforts to tone up the criminal justice system and provide protection to women, amendments to the Criminal Procedure Code, which were passed by Parliament last year, have become law.
Now a woman cannot be arrested after sunset and before sunrise except under exceptional circumstances.
The new statute allows use of DNA and other modern scientific techniques during medical examination and an accused in a rape case can been compelled to give blood samples for DNA testing.
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