Lok Sabha Question No. 2968 (UNSTARRED), answered on 2023-03-17
Subject: Atrocities against Women
Ministry: WOMEN AND CHILD DEVELOPMENT
Asked by: Haji Fazlur Rehman

## GOVERNMENT OF INDIA MINISTRY OF WOMEN AND CHILD DEVELOPMENT

## LOK SABHA UNSTARRED QUESTION NO. 2968

TO BE ANSWERED ON 17.03.2023

## ATROCITIES AGAINST WOMEN

2968: SHRI HAJI FAZLUR REHMAN:

Will the Minister of WOMEN AND CHILD DEVELOPMENT be pleased to state:

- a. the data regarding cases of atrocities against women during the last three years as per the records of National Commission for Women, State- wise;
- b. whether the cases of dowry, rape and violence against women have increased.
- c. if so, the details thereof, and
- d. the effective measures taken/ proposed to be taken by the Government to prevent such cases?

## ANSWER

## MINISTER OF WOMEN AND CHILD DEVELOPMENT (SHRIMATI SMRITI ZUBIN IRANI)

(a) State-wise data regarding cases of atrocities against women during the last three years as per the records of National Commission for Women during the last three years and current year (till 08.03.2023) is annexed as Annexure-A . State wise data of the complaints received by  NRI  Cell  during  the  last  3  years  and  current  year  (till  09.03.2023)  is  annexed  as Annexure-B. State wise data of the Complaints received by Suo Motu Cell during the last 3 years and current year (till 09.03.2023) is annexed as Annexure-C.

(b)&(c) Yes, sir. There is an increase in the number of complaints received/registered in the Commission under categories 'Dowry and Rape/attempt to Rape' during the last three years and current year (till 8.3.2023).  The details are as under:

| Year                  | 2020   | 2021   | 2022   | 2023 (till 8.3.2023)   |
|-----------------------|--------|--------|--------|------------------------|
| Nature of case(s)     |        |        |        |                        |
| Dowry 330             |        | 341    | 357    | 41                     |
| Rape/ attempt to Rape | 1236   | 1681   | 1710   | 246                    |

The detail of Suo-Motu cases of Dowry Harassment/Dowry Death and Rape Cases during the last three Financial Years and current year are as under:

| Year                          | 2019-2020   | 2020-21   | 2021-22   | 2022-23   |
|-------------------------------|-------------|-----------|-----------|-----------|
| Nature of case (s)            |             |           |           |           |
| Dowry Harassment /Dowry Death | 12          | 2         | 2         | 3         |
| Rape Cases                    | 56          | 64        | 67        | 61        |

(d) Effective measures taken/ proposed to be taken by the Government to prevent such cases are as under:

- i. Coordination with the Police: The Commission coordinates with concerned police authorities for registration of FIR/ expediting the case further and for Action Taken Reports where any matter is pending for investigation or there has been any failure on their part to take appropriate action, until the charge-sheet is filed. Police authorities are  approached  for  issuance  of  Look  Out  Circular  (LOC),  in  cases  where  there  are chances  of  respondent  to  evade  the  criminal  proceedings  initiated  against  him  in India.  Similarly,  the  Police  authorities  are  also  approached  for  issuance  of  Non Bailable Warrant; for initiating the procedure of execution of summon/ warrant/ any judicial document through MLAT procedure; for verification of documents including NBW/ PO, etc.
- ii. Seek  assistance  of  Indian  Embassy/Consulate  Abroad: In cases where  the complainant has sought for reconciliation with the respondent residing in the foreign country; or in finding the whereabouts of her husband who has deserted her and has gone  to  the  foreign  country  and  the  complainant  has  scanty  information  about  his whereabouts; and where the complainant has sought for legal and financial assistance under  the  MEA  Scheme,  the  Commission  takes  up  the  matter  with  the  concerned Indian  Embassies/Missions  abroad  for  providing  all  possible  assistance  to  the complainants.
- iii. Seek legal aid from District Legal Services Authority: Where the complainant has requested  the  Commission  to  provide  her  legal  aid  in  contesting  the  case  in  Indian courts, the matter is referred to the concerned State/ District Legal Services Authority.
- iv. Seek assistance Regional Passport Officer (Ministry of External Affairs): When the  complainant  has  requested  the  Commission  to  facilitate  her  in  impounding  the passport  of  her  offending  husband,  the  Regional  Passport  Officer  (Ministry  of External Affairs) is approached.
- v. Provide Counselling: Whenever complainants approach the Commission in person or  telephonically,  they  are  provided  psycho-social  and  legal  counseling  by  legal professionals and counselors.  They are also provided information on the interventions that NRI Cell makes while dealing with matters relating to NRI marital disputes and the interventions possible in their case.
- vi. Notice for hearing to appear: Parties are called for hearing in the Commission, on the request of the complainant or in Cases where it is felt that matter can be resolved between the parties. Also, concerned officers from the police authority are sent Notice for Hearing to appear before the Commission to provide the status/ reply in the case dealt by them, in order to expedite the case, pending for long.

Details  regarding  some  more  measures  taken  by  NCW  to  prevent  atrocities  on  women and the seminars/programmes  conducted  to address these issues, are annexed as an Annexure-D .

*****

Annexure  to  the  Lok  Sabha  Admitted  Parliament  Question  No.  2968  due  for  17 th March, 2023 regarding ' Atrocities against Women '

Data  of  state  wise  complaints  registered  in  the  National  Commission  for  Women  under various categories of deprivation of women ' s rights/violence against women during the last three years and current year (till 08.03.2023) is as under:

| State                       |   2020 |   2020212220212222021 |   2022 |   2023 |   Total |
|-----------------------------|--------|-----------------------|--------|--------|---------|
| Andaman and Nicobar Islands |      4 |                     2 |      6 |      1 |      13 |
| Andhra Pradesh              |    158 |                   206 |    169 |     32 |     565 |
| Arunachal Pradesh           |      6 |                     6 |      4 |      0 |      16 |
| Assam                       |     85 |                    90 |    122 |     17 |     314 |
| Bihar                       |   1072 |                  1457 |   1368 |    212 |    4109 |
| Chandigarh                  |     52 |                    64 |     65 |      8 |     189 |
| Chhattisgarh                |    154 |                   165 |    148 |     29 |     496 |
| Dadra and Nagar Haveli      |      7 |                     4 |      6 |      0 |      17 |
| Daman &Diu                  |      1 |                     1 |      0 |      0 |       2 |
| Delhi                       |   2636 |                  3336 |   3004 |    418 |    9394 |
| Goa                         |     15 |                    24 |     18 |      3 |      60 |
| Gujarat                     |    207 |                   265 |    233 |     29 |     734 |
| Haryana                     |   1265 |                  1461 |   1362 |    173 |    4261 |
| Himachal Pradesh            |     94 |                   135 |     98 |     16 |     343 |
| Jammu and Kashmir           |     79 |                   157 |    144 |     32 |     412 |
| Jharkhand                   |    335 |                   454 |    392 |     61 |    1242 |
| Karnataka                   |    467 |                   538 |    554 |    106 |    1665 |
| Kerala                      |    145 |                   152 |    159 |     27 |     483 |
| Ladakh                      |      0 |                     2 |      0 |      0 |       2 |
| Lakshadweep                 |      1 |                     1 |      0 |      0 |       2 |
| Madhya Pradesh              |    877 |                  1105 |   1141 |    196 |    3319 |
| Maharashtra                 |   1188 |                  1504 |   1381 |    242 |    4315 |
| Manipur                     |      7 |                     3 |      4 |      1 |      15 |
| Meghalaya                   |      8 |                     7 |      4 |      1 |      20 |
| Mizoram                     |      1 |                     3 |      1 |      0 |       5 |
| Nagaland                    |      1 |                     1 |      2 |      1 |       5 |
| Odisha                      |    138 |                   176 |    170 |     24 |     508 |
| Pondicherry                 |     10 |                    14 |     18 |      3 |      45 |
| Punjab                      |    420 |                   543 |    482 |     70 |    1515 |
| Rajasthan                   |    907 |                  1130 |   1030 |    169 |    3236 |
| Sikkim                      |      1 |                     4 |      4 |      1 |      10 |
| Tamil Nadu                  |    464 |                   581 |    668 |    102 |    1815 |
| Telangana                   |    220 |                   238 |    236 |     35 |     729 |
| Tripura                     |      6 |                    15 |     17 |      2 |      40 |
| Uttar Pradesh               |  11872 |                 15828 |  16873 |   2470 |   47043 |
| Uttarakhand                 |    358 |                   457 |    452 |     57 |    1324 |
| West Bengal                 |    458 |                   734 |    621 |     98 |    1911 |
| Total                       |  23719 |                 30863 |  30956 |   4636 |   90174 |

Annexure  to  the  Lok  Sabha  Admitted  Parliament  Question  No.  2968  due  for  17 th March, 2023 regarding ' Atrocities against Women '

State wise Report of the Complaints received by NRI Cell, National Commission for Women during last 3 years and current year (till 09.03.2023)

-

| S.No.   | State                       | 2020   |     | 2021 2022   | 2023   | Total   |
|---------|-----------------------------|--------|-----|-------------|--------|---------|
| 1.      | Andaman and Nicobar Islands |        | -   | -           | -      | -       |
| 2.      | Andhra Pradesh              | 31     | 36  | 24          | 3      | 94      |
| 3.      | Arunachal Pradesh           | -      | -   | -           | -      | -       |
| 4.      | Assam                       | -      | 1   | 2           | 1      | 4       |
| 5.      | Bihar                       | 9      | 11  | 6           | 1      | 27      |
| 6.      | Chandigarh                  | 11     | 5   | 5           | 2      | 23      |
| 7.      | Chhattisgarh                | 2      | 3   | 1           | -      | 6       |
| 8.      | Delhi                       | 52     | 55  | 56          | 14     | 177     |
| 9.      | Goa                         | -      | -   | 1           | 1      | 2       |
| 10.     | Gujarat                     | 21     | 20  | 23          | 4      | 68      |
| 11.     | Haryana                     | 40     | 39  | 21          | 5      | 105     |
| 12.     | Himachal Pradesh            | 6      | 2   | 5           | -      | 13      |
| 13.     | Jammu and Kashmir           | 5      | 5   | 6           | 1      | 17      |
| 14.     | Jharkhand                   | 1      | 5   | 6           | -      | 12      |
| 15.     | Karnataka                   | 31     | 23  | 31          | 7      | 92      |
| 16.     | Kerala                      | 21     | 16  | 14          | 1      | 52      |
| 17.     | Madhya Pradesh              | 5      | 10  | 11          | 4      | 30      |
| 18.     | Maharashtra                 | 41     | 46  | 43          | 7      | 137     |
| 19.     | Meghalaya                   | -      | 1   | -           | -      | 1       |
| 20.     | Nagaland                    | -      | -   | -           | -      | -       |
| 21.     | Odisha                      | 6      | 2   | 2           | -      | 10      |
| 22.     | Pondicherry                 | 3      | 2   | 2           | -      | 7       |
| 23.     | Punjab                      | 60     | 63  | 35          | 22     | 180     |
| 24.     | Rajasthan                   | 11     | 11  | 8           | 4      | 34      |
| 25.     | Sikkim                      | -      | -   | -           | -      | -       |
| 26.     | Tamil Nadu                  | 34     | 38  | 43          | 5      | 120     |
| 27.     | Telangana                   | 56     | 28  | 61          | 7      | 152     |
| 28.     | Tripura                     | -      | -   | -           | -      | -       |
| 29.     | Uttar Pradesh               | 50     | 45  | 59          | 7      | 161     |
| 30.     | Uttarakhand                 | 4      | 8   | 8           | 2      | 22      |
| 31.     | West Bengal                 | 6      | 5   | 8           | 2      | 21      |
| 32.     | Non-Mandate Cases           | 34     | 25  | 27          | -      | 86      |
| Total   | Total                       | 540    | 505 | 508         | 100    | 1653    |

Annexure  to  the  Lok  Sabha  Admitted  Parliament  Question  No.  2968  due  for  17 th March, 2023 regarding ' Atrocities against Women '

State wise Report of the Suo Motu cases during last 3 (Three) Financial Years and current year (till date)

|   S.No. | States/UTs             | 2019-2020   | 2020- 2021   | 2021-2022   | 2022-2023   |
|---------|------------------------|-------------|--------------|-------------|-------------|
|       1 | Andaman and Nicobar    | Nil         | Nil          | Nil         | Nil         |
|       2 | Arunachal Pradesh      | Nil         | 01           | Nil         | Nil         |
|       3 | Assam                  | 03          | 02           | 03          | 03          |
|       4 | Bihar                  | 19          | 20           | 21          | 14          |
|       5 | Chandigarh             | 03          | 02           | 01          | 01          |
|       6 | Chhattisgarh           | 05          | 08           | 05          | 09          |
|       7 | Dadar and Nagar Haveli | Nil         | Nil          | Nil         | Nil         |
|       8 | Daman &Diu             | Nil         | Nil          | Nil         | Nil         |
|       9 | Delhi                  | 18          | 20           | 40          | 52          |
|      10 | Goa                    | Nil         | 01           | 01          | 01          |
|      11 | Gujarat                | 07          | 08           | 03          | 03          |
|      12 | Haryana                | 10          | 20           | 19          | 20          |
|      13 | Himachal Pradesh       | 03          | Nil          | 02          | Nil         |
|      14 | Jammu &Kashmir         | Nil         | 02           | 01          | 01          |
|      15 | Jharkhand              | 13          | 08           | 05          | 12          |
|      16 | Karnataka              | 04          | 04           | 05          | 13          |
|      17 | Kerala                 | 06          | 04           | 03          | 09          |
|      18 | Ladakh                 | Nil         | Nil          | Nil         | Nil         |
|      19 | Lakshwadeep            | nil         | Nil          | Nil         | Nil         |
|      20 | Madhya Pradesh         | 05          | 21           | 14          | 15          |
|      21 | Maharashtra            | 11          | 25           | 11          | 11          |
|      22 | Manipur                | 03          | Nil          | Nil         | 01          |
|      23 | Meghalaya              | Nil         | 01           | 01          | Nil         |
|      24 | Mizoram                | Nil         | 01           | Nil         | 01          |

<!-- image -->

| 25.   | Nagaland      | 01   | Nil   | Nil   | Nil   |
|-------|---------------|------|-------|-------|-------|
| 26.   | Odisha        | 04   | 02    | 04    | 04    |
| 27.   | Puducherry    | Nil  | Nil   | Nil   | Nil   |
| 28.   | Punjab        | 07   | 03    | 06    | 06    |
| 29.   | Rajasthan     | 12   | 12    | 25    | 24    |
| 30.   | Tamil Nadu    | 03   | 02    | 11    | 04    |
| 31.   | Telangana     | 05   | 03    | 03    | 13    |
| 32.   | Tripura       | Nil  | Nil   | Nil   | Nil   |
| 33.   | Uttar Pradesh | 50   | 70    | 50    | 52    |
| 34.   | Uttarakhand   | 01   | 01    | 03    | 03    |
| 35.   | West Bengal   | 09   | 09    | 14    | 12    |
| 36.   | Sikkim        | Nil  | 01    | Nil   | Nil   |
| Total | Total         | 202  | 251   | 252   | 284   |

## Effective Measures taken by the North East Cell, NCW to prevent atrocities on women:

(i)  During  the  period  2014-15,  the  Commission  broadcast  through  radio  jingles  and  audio spots for North-East  States  on  the  subjects of ' Domestic  violence  against  women ' , ' Trafficking of women & girl child ' and ' Educating / sensitizing boys to respect women ' .

(ii)  The  Meghalaya  State  Commission  for  Women  in  association  with  NCW  organised  a National Consultation to deliberate on the issues related to ' Single Women ' at  Shillong on 20th and 21st April 2015.

(iii) The Commission convened a two-day Awareness Programme on 7th and 8th April, 2016 at the National Commission for Women Auditorium, New Delhi to sensitize women/ students from North-East, residing in Delhi about their legal rights, about how to invoke the law and where to go in case they are victimized.

(iv)  A team of the National Commission for Women visited Manipur from 26th to 28th July, 2016 to assess the problems faced by the women in the State and the need for sensitization and creation of awareness. The team had a series of meetings with all stake holders.

(v) The National Commission for Women in association with the NIRD (National Institute of Rural  Development  and  Panchayati  Raj)  had  initiated  a  capacity  building  programme  for Elected  Women  Representatives  in  all  the  districts  under  Panchayati  Raj  Institutions  of Manipur.  The  Commission  in  collaboration  with  Tata  Institute  of  Social  Sciences  (TISS), developed  a  module  for  capacity  building  training  of  Elected  Women  Representatives  of Panchayati Raj Institutions and Training Programme for Trainers of women Panchayat leader so as to enable the elected women representatives to facilitate, plan, implement and monitor development  and  welfare  programmes  in  the  respective  Panchayats.  The  on-site  training programme targeted six districts covering 880 EWRs, out of which 795 EWRs had attended capacity building training followed by handholding.

(vi) The National Commission for Women had partnered with the Cyber Peace Foundation and  Facebook  to  promote  digital  literacy  for  women  for  raising  awareness  about  cybercrimes; and advising users about the resources available to women; to prevent the problems and  also  how  to  handle  such  crimes.  The  programme  was  launched  as ' Digital  Shakti ' Campaign  at  Panjab  University  Chandigarh  on  18th  June,  2018  for  college/  university students. Currently, the third phase of the programme is going on.

(vii) The National Commission for Women organized a virtual webinar in collaboration with Nagaland State Commission for Women organized a webinar on 8th May, 2021 to deliberate on ' Combating and Preventing Trafficking of Women in North East Region ' , which resulted into comprehensive understanding of issues and recommendations for appropriate strategies and policies to combat and prevent trafficking of women in the region.

(viii) The National Commission for Women has extended financial support to SWCs in the North East Region to conduct online training for IC Members under the ' Sexual Harassment of Women at Workplace (Prevention, Prohibition & Redressal Act 2013 ) as well as seminars and legal awareness programs in their respective states.

(ix)   During  the  period  2014-2022,  the  Commission  has  sanctioned  the  following  Legal Awareness Programmes, Seminars/Consultations & Research Studies: -

|   S.N. | Year    | No. of Legal Awareness Programmes Conducted   |   No. of Webinars | Seminars/ No. of Research studies   |
|--------|---------|-----------------------------------------------|-------------------|-------------------------------------|
|      1 | 2014-15 | 31                                            |                 4 | --                                  |
|      2 | 2015-16 | 38                                            |                 9 | 6                                   |
|      3 | 2016-17 | 50                                            |                 3 | 2                                   |
|      4 | 2017-18 | 77                                            |                 1 | 5                                   |
|      5 | 2018-19 | 45                                            |                 3 | 2                                   |
|      6 | 2019-20 | --                                            |                21 | 2                                   |
|      7 | 2020-21 | 48                                            |                17 | 8                                   |
|      8 | 2021-22 | 76                                            |                11 | 2                                   |

## (x) Phase  I-  Pilot  Project-  Legal  Awareness  Program  with  National  Legal  Services Authority (NALSA) : -

The Commission has launched a ' Legal Awareness Programme ' for the women at grass-root level  in  collaboration  with  National  Legal  Services  Authority  on 15th  August,  2020.  The Pilot  project  covered  all  the  districts  of  8  States,  viz.,  Uttar  Pradesh,  Maharashtra,  West Bengal, Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan, Andhra Pradesh, Telangana and Assam. The Objective of the Program is to impart practical knowledge about the basic legal rights and remedies provided under various women related laws, thereby making them fit to  face the challenges in real life situations. A total of 675 camps were organized in the identified states with 34,631 participants from the time period of August to December, 2020.

## Phase II - PAN India Project: Legal Awareness Program with NALSA

The successful completion of the Pilot Project-' Legal Awareness Programme ' for the women at  grass-root  level  in  collaboration  with  National  Legal  Services  Authority  has  encouraged the Commission to extend the program in the remaining States/ Union Territories during the financial  year  2021-22.  Formal  launch  for  the  Program  was  carried  out  on  30.10.2021  at Varanasi UP. The PAN India project covered all the districts of 28 States & 08 UTs. A total of 965 programs have been organized throughout country with approx. 1,30,895 attendees upto December 2021. Out of total camps, 889 camps were organized in Non- NER with  1,25,176  participants  and 76  camps  with  5,719  participants  were  organized  in  NER region.

(xi) NCW had collaborated with Lal Bahadur Shastri National Academy of Administration (LBSNAA), the premier administrative training institute in India, for undertaking ' Capacity Building and Training of Protection Officers appointed under the Protection of Women from Domestic Violence Act, 2005 ' across  the  country.  5  days  long  online  training  programmes for  87  Protection  Officers  appointed  by  the  States  Uttar  Pradesh  and  Haryana  in  different batches  were  conducted  from  June  2021-September  2021.  A  standardized  module  is  also developed in collaboration with LBSNAA to carry forward these training programmes at Pan India level.

(xii)     NCW has signed MoU with Bureau of Police Research and Development (BPR&D) in the year July 2021 for conducting gender sensitization programs for police officers/personnel at all levels. The aim of these programmes is to ensure gender sensitization of police personnel with respect to legislation and policies concerning women, and bringing attitudinal and behavioural changes in police officers to effectively deal with crimes against women and take preventive steps to ensure safety and security of women. Till the signing of MoU, 24 Programs have been conducted for police officers of different levels through CDTIs and CAPT institutes, across the country and 767 police officers are trained in these programs.

(xiii)  The National Commission for Women sponsored Research Study on Effectiveness of existing legal framework under ' Protection of Women from Domestic Violence Act, 2005 ' , in order to study the problem of domestic violence in the country despite the enactment of specific legislations ' The Protection of Women from Domestic Violence Act, 2005 ' for the victims  of  domestic  violence  in  the  country.  In  total  13  Webinars  and  32  Seminars  were conducted for the topic. Additionally, two comprehensive research studies, namely, ' Domestic  Violence  in  Kashmir:  Legal  Framework  for  Enforcing  Women ' s  Rights ' and ' Socio-legal  Dimensions  of  Combating  Domestic  Violence:  Challenges  in  Implementing Protection of Women from Domestic Violence Act 2005 ' were also carried out.

(xiv)  The  National  Commission  for  Women  in  pursuance  of  its  mandate  organized  five Regional Consultations to review ' The Protection of Women from Domestic Violence Act, 2005 ' for Western, Southern, North Eastern, Eastern, and Northern Region on 10th February, 2021,  18th  February,  2021,  26th  February  2021  and  12th  March,  2021  respectively.  The objective  of  regional  consultation  is  to  incorporate  viewpoints  from  diverse  sectors  and stakeholders from different regions in the process of suggesting  comprehensive changes in the  law  relating  to  prevention  of  domestic  violence,  considering  that  there  may  be  regionspecific or state-specific issues that need to be addressed.