On November 27, the whole country was shaken with the brutal details of how a 27-year-old veterinary doctor, Disha* was sexually assaulted, killed and burnt. In the wake of this horrific incident, Andhra Pradesh cabinet introduced a special bill called ‘Andhra Pradesh Disha Bill’ for speedy justice in sexual crime cases.
Within a month of the horrific Telangana rape and killing incident, Andhra Pradesh’s government brought in ‘Disha Bill’. The bill proposed to reduce the timeline for judgments in sexual crime cases of conclusive evidence from 4 months to 3 weeks.
Additionally, the investigation deadline is a week and the trial is to be completed in two weeks. As per NDTV reports that in rape cases, the verdict has to be pronounced within 21 days and an appeal can be filed within 45 days (which was 6 months earlier).
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The law “Disha Act” is dubbed after the name given to the 27-year-old veterinary doctor.
As per sources, to implement Disha Act, Chief Secretary Nilam Sawhney issued a government order on January 2 appointing two Disha Special Officers – Dr. Kritika Shukla & Deepika Mandava Patil.
Andhra Pradesh: Govt of Andhra Pradesh has appointed Dr. Kritika Shukla (pic 1), IAS & M. Deepika (pic 2), IPS as Special Officers for implementing the Andhra Pradesh Disha Act 2019, which is intended for speedy trial & faster execution in cases of sexual offences against women. pic.twitter.com/3Ko5BtD5KU
— ANI (@ANI) January 2, 2020
Dr. Kritika Shukla is an IAS officer and Director of the Women Development & Child Welfare Department. And, Deepika Mandava Patil, is an IPS officer, who has been transferred from Additional Superintendent of Police (Administration) in Kurnool to Additional Director-General of Police, Crime Investigation Department (CID).
It is heartbreaking to see how rape cases keep prolonging in our courts. Nirbhaya’s parents have been fighting for 7-years, running from one court to another, in order to get justice for their daughter. Their 23-year-old daughter was beaten, gang-raped, and tortured in a private bus by 6 men. Later, she succumbed to her injuries caused by the brutal incident.
We are in awe of these two women officers who are at the forefront of implementing this important bill. It will not only give speedy justice to rape victims and their families but also encourage many more to fight against their culprits.
