Posted on 02/17/2012 7:13:36 PM PST by James C. Bennett
NEW DELHI: A city court caused a stir on Friday when it asked legislators to consider castration as an alternative punishment for child abusers.
"Castration is the most befitting sentence which can be imposed on any pedophile or serial offender but the hands of this court are tied as the statute does not provide for it... Indian legislators are yet to explore this as an alternative to conventional sentencing," observed additional sessions judge Kamini Lau.
ASJ Lau sentenced a man to imprisonment for his "entire life" for raping his six-year-old niece and directed the prison authorities not to give him any remission.
"The message to be sent by the court has to be loud and clear, and that is 'do not mess with a child' and any person who meddles with the child, male or female, in any manner shall not be spared," the court said. ASG Lau added that while castration was a befitting punishment for child abusers, it could not be given right now as legislators in India had not yet considered the possibility.
It also directed the Delhi government to grant a compensation of Rs 2 lakh to the victim as part of restorative justice, as the victim had not recovered physically from the abuse. The judge noted that the victim was still receiving treatment and her resistance level had decreased as she was suffering from recurrent infections.
"The possibility of the convict having transmitted some infection to the victim while committing the ghastly act cannot be ruled out... It is cases like these which the ministry of women and child development needs to target for restorative justice so that the medical and legal assistance, professional psychological counselling, shelter and other support is provided to the victim," ASJ Lau said.
The court convicted 30-year-old Nandan for rape, kidnapping and unnatural sex. Calling the convict a "live sex bomb", the court refused to take a lenient view of his act. "Society cannot afford to have live sex bombs who, if let loose, are a potential threat... particularly to women and children. The convict before this court with his track record of a compulsive sex drive requires to be kept out of circulation," it said.
Nandan had kidnapped his niece when she was playing with her brother and took her to his house on pretext of giving her ice-cream and raped her in April last year. Nandan had earlier tried to sexually assault women in his family but the matter was hushed up to protect family honour, the prosecution had stated.
The court noted that the minor was rescued from the clutches of the convict by her mother and aunt who went to his house in search of the girl. They had found the injured child crying while Nandan was sleeping after committing the crime.
NEW DELHI: In an observation that is bound to spark a debate, a trial court on Saturday advocated the use of "chemical castration" as an alternative to a jail term for rapists.
Additional sessions judge Kamini Lau said, "The Indian legislatures are yet to... address the issue (of rape) with all seriousness by exploring the possibility of permitting imposition of alternative sentences of surgical castration or chemical castration, particularly in cases involving rape of minors, serial offenders and child molesters or as a condition for probation, or as an alternative sentence in case of plea bargaining."
Delhi additional sessions judge Kamini Lau suggested castration as an alternative punishment for rapists while hearing the case against a man who had raped his 15-year-old step-daughter for over four years. Though the court sentenced him to 10 year of rigorous imprisonment, it said that such crimes were required to be addressed differently. "A full public debate, with regard to imposition of castration (both surgical and chemical) as an alternative punishment for the offence of rape and molestation, is the need of the hour," ASJ Lau said. The court also imposed a fine of Rs 25,000 on convict Dinesh Yadav, 35, a labourer by profession.
It directed that a copy of the order be sent to the secretary of ministry of law and justice, Government of India and national commission for women.
The Indian Penal Code provides only a jail term for sexual offenders. Countries like the US, the UK, Germany, etc., have started using chemical castration as an alternative. Chemical castration is administration of medication designed to reduce libido and sexual activity, usually in the hope of preventing rapists, child molesters and other sex offenders from repeating their crimes. In surgical castration, the testes or ovaries are removed through an incision in the body. Medical experts, however, are divided on the efficacy of the method.
The judge observed that though the method is "not the perfect solution to inhibit child molestation", it certainly discourages sexual assault better than incarceration.
The court expressed its apprehension that the idea may get panned by activists. "I am not oblivious of the fact that arguments are bound to be raised against the above by some activists, but in my view, it would be sheer hypocrisy given the damage the rapists and sexual predators do to their victims,'' the judge added.
No, he should be put down like the animal he is.
Damned good first step. Now for all rapists, and next we discuss murderers.
Not enough.
They don’t need to ‘get it up’ to abuse the child in a lot of ways
I would be in favor of total physical castration for sex offenders of all kinds.
How do you castrate a female teacher?
(Sounds like a joke waiting for a punchline.)
"Chemical castration is administration of medication designed to reduce libido and sexual activity, usually in the hope of preventing rapists, child molesters and other sex offenders from repeating their crimes. In surgical castration, the testes or ovaries are removed through an incision in the body. Medical experts, however, are divided on the efficacy of the method."
If nothing else, they have their priorities straight... just my opinion.
While I agree cutting should be involved, I’m afraid the judge is a bit south of where the blade should be applied.
Take the head and the beast never offends again.
Now, if you performed the castration with a hammer, it might just work. This would be in addition to the jail time.
Take away her tenure?
Seriously though, castration should be the minimum mandatory punishment for child abusers. I've got no problem with the death penalty for them.
You sew it shut. . . .
Or better yet send them to me I will handle them unless they are butt ugly then put them in the lectric chair.
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