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Should India have a National Registry of Sex Offenders? Maneka Gandhi asks

On Friday, Delhi High Court refused to stay the release of the juvenile convict in Nirbhaya rape case.

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Juvenile convict in the December 16 gang-rape case is all set to be released from jail on coming Sunday. He has completed a jail term of 3 years, and amidst all protests, the Delhi High Court refused to stay the release of the juvenile. 

"We cannot prohibit juvenile's release as per the statutory and existing provision of law," said the court. The court also asked Juvenile Board to interact with convict, his guardians and officials of Delhi government regarding his post release rehabilitation.

Nirbhaya's parents and several activists are disappointed in the Court's ruling. 

"Despite all our efforts for three years, our government and our courts have released a criminal. The assurance we were given that we would get justice, that has not been delivered. We are very disappointed. We haven't seen him, not met him, but despite all our efforts, the criminal will walk free," Asha Devi, mother of the victim, said. 

Following the judgement, Maneka Gandhi on Friday posed a question on Twitter for people to share their opinions on the 'National Registry of Sex Offenders'. This will allow citizens to access a list of sexual offenders. 

Earlier in December too, Maneka had pitched the idea to Law Ministry to initiate mandatory registration of sex offenders by local police to keep them under surveillance and called for the enactment of a law for the same. 

"In cases where the accused are convicted for committing heinous crimes, the orders of the court may also include mandatory requirement of registration of the accused in local police station so that police can monitor their activities and keep track of their movements," Union Minister Maneka Gandhi said in a letter to the Law Minister.

She suggested that the offenders of heinous crimes should be mandated to provide their personal details to the local law enforcement agency on regular basis. Such an initiative by courts will ensure effective management and supervision of sex offenders and also reduce future offences leading to a sense of security among women and children, she said. 

On the other hand, there is a group of people who believe that this register may violate the right of convicts. Since there names will be available in a public domain, potential employers may decide not to hire them. The convict, who may have changed his behaviour after coming out of the jail, may have to face discrimination because of his past. 

According to National Crimes Records Bureau, sexual crimes such as rape have increased from 24,923 in 2012 to 36,735 in 2014 and in case of children, it has increased from 8,541 to 13,766 during the same period. Cases of assault on women with intent to outrage her identity have more than doubled from 40,613 in 2010 to 82,235 in 2014.

Similarly, 11,335 cases were reported in 2014 of assault on girl children with an intent to outrage their modesty and 444 cases were registered under the category of insulting the modesty of girl children during the same period.

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