Questions & criticism
Straight answers to the hardest questions about these demands.
Don’t these deadlines already exist in law? +
Some do. The law already sets a two-month deadline for rape investigations and another two months for trials.Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita, 2023 (Indian Kanoon)India Code — official source (may be intermittently down) India also has a witness protection schemeSource (opens in a new tab) and a penalty for police who refuse to register FIRs.Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, 2023 (Indian Kanoon)India Code — official source (may be intermittently down)Lalita Kumari v. Govt of U.P. (Supreme Court, 2013) None of it is enforced, and nobody pays a price when deadlines are missed. Our demands attach real consequences so the existing law is actually followed.
Won’t ₹1 crore a month bankrupt the State? +
It applies only to cases registered after the new law comes into force, not to the existing backlog. It is designed so that meeting the deadline is always cheaper than missing it. If courts deliver on time, it costs nothing.
Can forensic labs really deliver DNA results in 20 hours? +
The lab work itself is a matter of hours — the delay today is staffing and backlog, not the science. About half of scientific forensic posts lie vacant,Source (opens in a new tab) and the central labs are carrying tens of thousands of pending cases.Source (opens in a new tab) That’s why we also demand every vacant post be filled within 12 months, and labs run 24 hours a day.
A 24-hour guard for every survivor? India doesn’t have that many police. +
Every survivor and witness gets identity protection. The 24-hour guard is for anyone found to be at risk in a threat assessment done within 24 hours of the FIR.
Won’t fast trials plus the death penalty lead to innocent people being executed? +
The four-month deadline applies to the trial, not to appeals. Every right of appeal remains, and no death sentence is carried out until the Supreme Court confirms it. Fast, reliable forensic evidence (Demand 2) protects the innocent as much as it convicts the guilty.
Isn’t a mandatory death penalty unconstitutional? +
The Supreme Court struck down a mandatory death sentence in Mithu v. State of Punjab (1983).Source (opens in a new tab) That’s why we ask Parliament to amend the Constitution if needed. Courts may still review such an amendment. We’re asking Parliament to make that choice openly.
Does the death penalty actually deter rape? +
Research consistently shows that the certainty of being caught deters crime more than the severity of punishment.Source (opens in a new tab) That’s why four of our five demands are about making sure offenders are caught, charged and convicted quickly. Demand 5 is about what we believe justice requires for survivors.
Won’t offenders kill victims if rape carries the same punishment as murder? +
This concern is real. The strongest protection against it is making sure offenders are caught fast, through quick FIRs, forensic results within hours, and protection for survivors. Rape with murder already carries the death penalty under current law.
Most rapists are known to the survivor. Won’t families pressure survivors not to report? +
This is why Demand 4 exists. Identity protection from the moment of the FIR, threat assessment within 24 hours, and a police guard for anyone at risk make it harder for families or the accused to pressure survivors into silence.
Why include marital rape? +
We believe consent does not end at marriage. The Supreme Court is currently hearing whether the marital rape exception is constitutional.Hrishikesh Sahoo v. State of Karnataka (Supreme Court, pending)Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, 2023 (Indian Kanoon)India Code — official source (may be intermittently down) Our position is that rape is rape, whoever commits it.
What about false cases? +
Every punishment we propose applies only after a conviction in court, with all rights of appeal intact. The Supreme Court has repeatedly held that a consensual relationship that ends is not rape.Source (opens in a new tab) Demand 2 exists partly because fast, reliable forensic evidence is the best protection against a false case.
Will this apply to people already accused? +
No. Article 20(1) of the Constitution forbids harsher punishment for past offences.Article 20, Constitution of India (Indian Kanoon)India Code — official source (may be intermittently down) All demands apply to offences committed after the new law comes into force.
Who is behind this? +
Women Safety India is a citizens’ collective, not affiliated with any political party or government body. Contact us at [email protected] .
Are the signature numbers real? +
Each phone number or email counts once, and every signature passes a bot check. See ‘How we count’ under What happens next.
Why does India report fewer rapes per person than Sweden? +
Not because India is safer. Countries like Sweden use a broader legal definition of rape, and survivors there trust the system enough to report — so their recorded numbers run far higher.Source (opens in a new tab) Low reported numbers here largely mean women aren’t reporting, not that the crime is rare.
What do countries that handle this better do? +
They make getting caught certain: specialist police units, a survivor-first process from the first report, one-stop centres where medical, legal and police support happen together,Source (opens in a new tab) and consent-based rape laws.Source (opens in a new tab) Our demands bring those same principles to India, with deadlines and consequences.