Here's some good news for victims of 'MMS menace'.
Circulation of an obscene MMS (multimedia service) clip of a woman will soon
land the sender and those sharing the content in jail for up to three years.
The Ministry of Women and Child Development has proposed to
include electronic content within the ambit of the Indecent Representation of
Women (Prohibition) Act.
In a cabinet note prepared to amend the law, the ministry
has also sought to increase the punishment for objectionable representation of
women. Under the proposed changes, violation of Indecent Representation of
Women Act will be punishable with an imprisonment of up to three years (as
against the current provision of two years) and a fine of Rs 50,000 to Rs 1
lakh as against Rs 2,000 at present.
According to ministry sources, the proposal can be put up
for the cabinet's approval within the next few weeks. The amendment to the
Indecent Representation of Women (Prohibition) Act has been long overdue as the
law, in its current form, covers only the print media.
The amendment would bring electronic media, Internet and
mobile phones under its purview. Although the ministry concluded its
consultation with stakeholders and other ministries a year ago, it could
prepare the Cabinet note this month only as it was awaiting the approval of the
law ministry.
"We have proposed to include electronic content in the
Act and the definition of electronic content is the same as specified in the
Information and Technology Act. This will make the law more contemporary,"
said Women and Child Development Minister Krishna Tirath.
According to cyber law expert Pawan Duggal, the definition
of electronic form under Clause 2 (r) of the IT Act includes anything in
digital form. "So if the Indecent Representation of Women law is linked
with the IT Act, then it would cover all audios, videos and images in
electronic form," he said.
Circulation of pornographic clips of unsuspecting women
through MMS on mobile phones is fast emerging as another form of gender
violence and cyber crime in the country. The MMS scandal that hit Delhi Public
School, RK Puram, in 2004 continues to linger in public consciousness.
The most recent case of MMS crime is not even a week old.
The Delhi Police recently arrested three men for making an obscene MMS clip of
a girl and then Stricter penalty for circulating vulgar MMSes blackmailing her.
At present, such offenders are booked under Section 66 of
the IT Act 2000. "But this is a general provision and the IT law does not
have anything specifically on indecent representation of women and what is
defined as objectionable representation," said Duggal.
Apart from this, the ministry has also proposed to tweak the
meaning of "indecent representation" in the Act. Currently, it is
defined as "the depiction in any manner of the figure of a woman; her form
or body or any part thereof in such way as to have the effect of being
indecent, or derogatory to, or denigrating women, or is likely to deprave,
corrupt or injure the public morality or morals".
The ministry also wants to include the depiction of women
"as a sexual object which is lascivious or appeals to the prurient
interests".
"The proposal to increase the monetary penalty is
welcome. I just hope the revised definition of indecent representation has been
carefully crafted to safeguard the rights of women in modelling and media,'
said Supreme Court lawyer Kirti Singh.
The proposal has been welcomed by women who feel MMS is fast
becoming a tool for perverts to harass them. "The move will help control
objectification of women in media, especially in advertisements. Also, if it
applies to circulation of pornographic MMS clips, then it's a step further in
protection of women's rights," said Manisha Pande, a journalist.
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