India plans broader definition of sexual assault

March 17, 2010

The government has not given any time-frame by which the amendment would be

effected

Published on 03/16/2010 - 09:06:12 AM

New Delhi: The government is in the process of defining " honour killings " and

widening the definition of sexual assault, Home Minister P Chidambaram said in

the Lok Sabha Tuesday.

" We are in the process of defining the honour killing, " Chidambaram said while

replying to questions related to the caste panchayats' controversial rulings on

marriages in some parts of the country.

The government had stated in the Rajya Sabha earlier that a proposal to amend

the Indian Penal Code (IPC) to deal with honour killings was under

consideration.

The government, however, did not give any timeframe by which the amendment would

be effected.

" We are looking at a broader definition of sexual assault, " Chidambaram said

when asked about the government's reported decision to amend the IPC, replacing

the word " rape " with " sexual assault " in the existing law in order to broaden

the ambit of crimes covered under the sections and make the provisions gender

neutral.

Quoting Home Ministry officials, the reports said " making sexual assault 'gender

neutral' will imply that the relevant sections of IPC can be slapped on accused

of any gender who has committed the crime " .

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