Ananya Chakravarti, Author at Alive

In Retrospect: The ‘Juvenile’ In Major Gang-Rape Cases

Ananya ChakravartiDecember 16, 20210

The Bombay High Court in November, commuted to life imprisonment, the death penalty awarded to three repeat offenders in connection with the gang-rape of a photo-journalist inside Mumbai's defunct Shakti Mills compound, in 2013. The incident dates back to August 22, 2013. A young photojournalist, who was accompanied by her colleague on assignment, was raped by four men and a minor. The four accused were named and identified by the victim and were help guilty by the Court. The minor was tried separately by the Juvenile Justice Board. It was argued that the acts perpetrated by the three amounted to "devastation of social trust" and invited the indignation of society. These acts itself demonstrate the mental perversion and inconceivable brutality caused by the convicts. It sound...

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Oral Sex With Minor Not ‘Aggravated Sexual Assault’: Allahabad HC

Ananya ChakravartiDecember 16, 20210

While dealing with the appeal of a POCSO convict, accused of committing oral sex with a 10-year-old boy, the Allahabad High Court recently observed that putting the penis into the mouth does not fall in the category of aggravated sexual assault or sexual assault. It comes into the category of penetrative sexual assault which is punishable under Section 4 of the POCSO Act. It is important to note that the Court, in its order, didn't take into account Section 5 (m) of the POCSO Act, which stipulates that if the offence of 'penetrative sexual assault' on a child, who is below the age of twelve years, the same would be punishable with the offence of 'aggravated penetrative sexual assault' as per Section 6 of the Act. It may be noted that since 'penetrative sexual assault' under Sect...

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Women And Their Workplaces: Why Is It So Tough?

Ananya ChakravartiDecember 16, 20210

In recent news, a man appeared semi-nude for a virtual hearing where Former Additional Solicitor General Indira Jaisingh was representing the victim. Ms Jaisingh has filed a case of sexual harassment against the un-named man as she said that he appeared in a semi-naked state for a full 20 minutes despite raising objections against his state of undress. Ms. Jaisingh also said that such a conduct in public was highly demeaning to a woman. Just a day back, an Ola driver was suspended for masturbating in front of a female passenger. One question that pops up in one’s mind is from where do these men find the guts to behave like that and pat comes the reply: our nature of not holding men accountable for their actions. We see it happen, everywhere, at any time. 78% of women have experience...