ASU’s School of Legal Studies hosts guest lecture on rape law in India

The School of Legal Studies (SoLS) at Apeejay Stya University (ASU) organised a special guest lecture on April 28, on the topic “The Law of Rape in India” by Dr Nikhil Kashyap, Founder, Karat Lawz Academy, Delhi. Students from the SoLS and the School of Management Sciences attended this informative lecture on a very important issue.

Mr Amit Singh, Associate Professor, SoLS, ASU, welcomed the guest speaker. He laid down the context of the session in his opening remarks. Dr Kashyap began the lecture with the legal definition of rape under Section-375 of the Indian Penal Code. He explained the meaning of specific terms mentioned in it and how they were to be interpreted. For example, he clarified the difference between “will” and “consent” when it comes to something like rape, the former being a narrower perspective of “consent”.

Later, through graphical representations, he showed how the registered rape cases, as per National Crime Records Bureau (NCRB) data have reduced following the amendment in the rape clause in 2018.

In this offline interactive session, Dr Kashyap also addressed one of the much-debated issues about whether there should be a death penalty for a rape convict. He said such a verdict would be ruled by emotion whereas, from a practical viewpoint, it could end up causing more harm to the victim. He further discussed landmark rape cases such as the Mathura rape case, the Nirbhaya rape case, etc.

Dr Kashyap also dwelled on other sensitive issues associated with rape such as marital rape, how society reacts to rape victims, and more. His viewpoints helped students get different perspectives on an important socio-legal topic.

“Rape is a stigma and most heinous crime which has existed in society for a long time. The laws related to rape in India have undergone tremendous changes in the recent past. Still, the crime of rape keeps occurring in our society. Many times, the rape victim chooses to remain silent due to fear of loss of reputation in society, and the crime remains unreported. Perhaps a change in mindset and the societal outlook towards rape victims is a crying need of the hour in our country.”

-Amit Singh, Associate Professor, SoLS, ASU