IPC To Be Changed To Curb Gender Crimes: Kishan Reddy

Union Minister of State for Home Affairs G Kishan Reddy today said that the Centre was trying to amend the existing Indian Penal Code (IPC) and Code of Criminal Procedure (CrPC) with the objective of creating a safer India for women.

Speaking as the Chief Guest on the second day of the three-day-long Business Women Expo being organised jointly by Hitex and the Confederation of Women Entrepreneurs (COWE), in association with several agencies of the state government, he said, "The matter of women's safety is of paramount importance to Prime Minister Narendra Modi and his government. We are prepared to do whatever it takes to ensure the same. For this, we need an effective legal system to curb gender-based crimes as it is important to instil fear of the law into any potential offenders. That is why we have decided to work on bringing major changes to the IPC and CrPC."

Elaborating on the matter, Reddy said, "The Centre has been interacting with a cross-section of the people of the country and is consulting many experts to bring about changes that will help make the IPC and CrPC more effective in controlling crimes against women."

"The government is already working on creating an alert system on the cases of heinous crimes against women when the hearings of such cases are adjourned. The alerts will be made available via an online portal of the Ministry of Home Affairs, for public information," the leader said.

He added that the Centre was also recording the data of offenders to create a comprehensive information bank on such individuals.

The minister then urged the COWE to organise a seminar on the same and submit a report to the Centre on what needed to be done for the protection of women and the laws needed to do the same.

"Once our initial deliberations are over, the matter will then be forwarded to the Cabinet for its approval, and will subsequently be introduced in Parliament, he said.

Reddy also highlighted the various initiatives taken by the Modi government for the safety and security of women in the country.

Appreciating women's role and contribution in both the domestic and the public sphere, he said that the Centre was committed to creating a gender-equal India, and would work towards doing so.