By I C Naik
These days cooperatives are in the news for right or wrong reasons. Here in one interesting case. A woman cooperator requested the Bombay high court to take cognizance of negligent actions of the police in accordance with the new rules (framed after the Nirbhaya gangrape) for the recording of statement in cases of crime against women.
A prime daily in Mumbai reported that a woman member of a cooperative housing society in Dahisar alleged that she was beaten up and molested by her neighbour and urged the court to order the state to frame guidelines for housing societies to deal with sexual harassment cases.
“In Mumbai, there are thousands of cooperative societies and it is necessary to prepare mandatory guidelines for the safety of women in housing societies as laid in the Vishaka case,” said the complainant in the petition, which was filed through her lawyer. The petition is scheduled to come up before the court next week.
The woman claimed she had been the target of lewd comments from another member of her housing society; she filed many complaints with her society and even with the police, but the harassment continued. She claimed that initially the police registered a case of criminal intimidation against the neighbour -a bailable offence.
She complained to higher-ups that the police had not recorded her statement as per what she had narrated. In October, the police applied the newly introduced section 354 B that deals with the offence of using criminal force or assault on a woman with the intention of disrobing her or compelling her to be naked in public.
The punishment is a jail term of three to seven years. The aggrieved member said the police have not made efforts to re arrest the accused and pointed out that in the first instance, the neighbor was released on bail, with the surety being signed by his wife, who was named co-accused in the case. The petition stated that changes were made to the Criminal Procedure Code earlier this year, requiring that in any complaint filed by a woman against assault, outraging modesty, rape and criminal intimidation, her statement has to be recorded by a woman police officer. This was not done in Stella’scase, she said.
Bombay lawyer says that
1. A woman who wants to file complaints against sexual offences: Statement will be recorded by woman police officer Legal assistance will be provided
2. If complainant is temporarily or permanently physically or mentally disabled, statement will be recorded at residence or a convenient place in presence of a special educator or interpreter
3. Police can videograph recording of statement
4. Police should get statement recorded before magistrate.