151 MPs, MLAs have declared cases of crimes against women -Governance Now

151 MPs, MLAs have declared cases of crimes against women

ADR/NEW Analysis: BJP leads the party tally and West Bengal the state list

GN Bureau | August 21, 2024

#Crime Against Women #Gender #Crime

(Illustration: Ashish Asthana)

* Out of the 755 sitting MPs and 3,938 sitting MLAs whose election affidavits were analysed, 151 have declared cases related to crimes against women.

* Among these 151 MPs/MLAs, 16 are sitting MPs and 135 are sitting MLAs.

* The 151 MPs/MLAs have declared cases such as charges related to assault or criminal force to woman with intent to outrage her modesty (IPC Section-354); Kidnapping, abducting or inducing woman to compel her marriage, etc. (IPC Section-366); rape (IPC Section-376); Whoever commits rape repeatedly on the same woman, shall be punished with rigorous imprisonment for a term which shall not be less than ten years, but may extend to imprisonment (IPC Section-376(2)(n)); Husband or relative of husband of a woman subjecting her to cruelty (IPC Section-498A); Buying minor for purposes of prostitution, etc. (IPC Section-373) and word, gesture or act intended to insult the modesty of a woman (IPC Section-509).

These facts were brought out by an analysis carried out by the Association for Democratic Reforms (ADR) and National Election Watch (NEW). They have analysed 4,693 out 4,809 election affidavits of sitting MPs and MLAs, the ADR said in a release on Wednesday.

The report they have prepared analyses 755 out of 776 affidavits of sitting MPs and 3,938 out of 4,033 sitting MLAs from all the 28 states and 8 union territories in the last five years. It also includes analysis of the affidavits submitted for bye-elections held during the five years’ period due to resignation, death or vacation of seat due to some other reason.

For the full reports, please see:
https://adrindia.org/Analysis_of_Sitting_MPs_and_MLAs_with_Declared_Cases_Related_to_Crimes_against_Women_2024

Party wise sitting MPs/MLAs with cases related to crimes against women

* Among various parties, BJP has the highest number of sitting MPs/ MLAs, i.e., 54, followed by INC with 23 and TDP with 17 sitting MPs/MLAs who have declared cases related to crimes against women.

State wise sitting MPs/MLAs with cases related to crimes against women

* Among the states, West Bengal has the highest number of sitting MPs/ MLAs i.e., 25, followed by Andhra Pradesh with 21 and Odisha with 17 sitting MPs/MLAs who have declared cases related crimes against women.

Details of sitting MPs/MLAs with declared cases related to rape

* Out of 151 sitting MPs/MLAs who have declared cases related to crimes against women, 16 sitting MPs/MLAs have declared cases related to rape (IPC Section-376) and Whoever commits rape repeatedly on the same woman, shall be punished with rigorous imprisonment for a term which shall not be less than ten years, but may extend to imprisonment (IPC Section-376(2)(n)).

* Among these 16 sitting MPs/MLAs with declared cases related to Rape, 2 are sitting MPs and 14 are sitting MLAs.

Party wise number of sitting MPs/MLAs with declared cases related to rape

* Among parties, BJP and INC each have the highest number of sitting MPs/ MLAs with 5 each declared cases related to rape.

Recommendations

No major political party is an exception to the trend of giving the ticket to candidates with cases of crimes against women, especially rape, and therefore hindering the safety and dignity of women as citizens. These are serious cases where charges have been framed and cognizance has been taken by the courts.

These figures reveal the grave malaise and travesty in our political system where the rich and powerful MPs/MLAs with cases related to crime against women are able to subvert the system, use their influence to interfere with the police investigations, use the judicial delays to their advantage and in some cases continuously harass the victims and their families.

ADR and NEW strongly recommends that:

*Candidates with a criminal background should be debarred from contesting elections.

* As directed by the Supreme Court in February 2020, Political parties should declare reasons why candidates with criminal cases are given tickets to contest elections.

* Court Cases against MPs and MLAs should be fast tracked and decided upon in a time bound manner with court monitored professional and thorough investigation by Police.

* Voters should desist from electing candidates with self-declared cases related to crime against women and other heinous crimes.

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