Can you complain online for crime against women in your state? Read on.
Crimes which are “directed specifically against women” and in which “only women are the victims” are characterized as “Crimes Against Women”[1]. General crimes of which women may also be the victims are not referred to as crimes against women. Crimes against women punished under IPC are as follows: Rape (Section 376 IPC); Kidnapping & Abduction (Sec. 363-373 IPC); Dowry Death (Sec.302, 304B IPC) and Dowry Prohibition Act, 1961; Torture (Cruelty by Husband & Relatives) (Sec.498-A IPC); Molestation (Sec.354 IPC); Sexual Harassment (Sec.509 IPC); Importation of Girls (Sec.366-B IPC).
Crimes against women increased by 6.4% in 2012 as compared to 2011 (as per the records of the National Crimes Record Bureau), such an alarming rate of increase in the number of crimes against women has forced the concerned authorities to take effective measures.
In this age of internet, the effective use of the technology was important to tackle the menace of increasing crimes against women. It was important to make it convenient for the aggrieved to register complaint or to seek help from the concerned authorities.
Thus Police departments of various states and women organizations have made the complaint registration process easier and now the complaints can even be registered through e-mail, post or on the websites of the concerned department.
For the above purpose the former Union Home Ministry started an ambitious Rs. 2,000 crore project i.e. the Crime and Criminal Tracking Network and Systems (CCTNS) project. This project is aimed at making policing effective through e-governance and also at making possible the online filing of FIRs. Various states are thus in the process of implementing this project.
National Commission for Women
National Commission for women (NCW) set up in 1992 under the National Commission for Women Act, 1990 registers complaints under various heads such as Acid attack, attempt to rape, bigamy, cyber crime, desertion, divorce, maintenance, dowry death, dowry harassment, female infanticide, harassment at workplace, molestation, outraging modesty of women, sexual harassment at workplace, etc. It has an online complaint registration system (introduced in the year 2005) available on its website: http://ncw.nic.in/onlinecomplaintsv2/frmHome.aspx. This system also provides for speedy and easy registration of complaints on commission’s email address ncw@nic.in from any part of India or the World. The Non-Resident Indians Cell of NCW also registers complaints online on http://ncw.nic.in/frmNRICell.aspx .
Supreme Court
Clause 2(a) of the Gender Sensitization and Sexual Harassment of Women at the Supreme Court of India (Prevention, Prohibition and Redressal) Regulations, 2013 says that a complaint of sexual harassment at Supreme Court of India precincts may be made to the Gender Sensitisation and Internal Complaints Committee (GSICC) through its Member Secretary – Rachna Gupta, Registrar.The complaints can be made either by registered post, courier, speed post, e-mail or can be handed over personally. Aggrieved women can register their complaints by e-mailing to the Member Secretary Rachna Gupta at gupta.rachna@indianjudiciary.gov.in.
The Sexual harassment of women at workplace (prevention, prohibition, and redressal) Act, 2013 has also set up a grievance redressal mechanism where the organizations with staff of more than ten are to set up an internal complaints committee to deal with the complaints of sexual harassment. The state is required to set up a local complaints committee to investigate complaints related to sexual harassment from cases which cannot be dealt with by the internal complaints committee or where there is no internal complaints committee.
Measures Taken by Different States:
Andhra Pradesh
Andhra Pradesh State Women’s Commission allows for the online registration of petitions on http://demo.cgg.gov.in/APWC/Login.do.
Arunachal Pradesh
The Arunachal Pradesh State Commission for Women will soon provide for the online registration of complaints on http://arunachalwomencommission.in/?q=ocomplaints# though the service is not presently available.
Assam
Assam police provides registration of complaints by filling a form on http://www.assampolice.gov.in/help.php.
Bihar
Patna police has started online registration of complaints on http://onlineapp.bih.nic.in/PP_FIR/Index.aspx.
Chattisgarh
Chattisgarh State Commission for Women allows the complaints to be sent through post to the commission and also allows for the online registration of complaints on http://cgmahilaayog.com/case/.
Delhi
Delhi Police has started a campaign called as Parivartan for the safety of women in Delhi. This campaign has made possible the online registration of complaints. An aggrieved can now file a complaint by filling the form provided on Parivartan website: http://www.delhipolice.nic.in/parivartan/submitonline.htm
Delhi Police has also set up an Anti-Stalking Helpline in the Crime Branch. This ‘Anti-Stalking Cell’ functions with a help line 27894455, 1096 and also allows the registration of complaints through e-mail on: acp-sit-dl@nic.in.
“Anti-Obscene Calls Cell” of the Delhi Police Crime Branch also allows registration of complaints through e-mail on: acp-sit-dl@nic.in.
A ‘Crime Against Women’ Cell has also been established by the Delhi police for grievance redressal of aggrieved women. Apart from helpline numbers, Women’s Post Mail deals exclusively with complaints from women.
Delhi Commission for Women also provides for the online registration of complaints on http://www.delhi.gov.in/wps/wcm/connect/lib_dcw/DCW/Our+Services/Online+Complaint though as of now the internal server shows error when the link is opened.
To be able to help college and University girls, complaint boxes have been put up in universities & college campuses, these boxes are opened by the concerned SHO. After registration of these complaints in the Daily diary of the Police station; the required action is taken on them.
Apart from placing complaint boxes at every Police Station and at offices of various officers, a Post Box No. 171 at GPO, New Delhi, has also been earmarked for the purpose of filing complaints. Complaint letter can also be submitted by hand to the concerned officer.
Goa
Goa police or the state women commission does not provide for the online complaint registration mechanism.
Gujarat
Gujarat State Women Commission allows for online registration of complaints on http://www.scwgujarat.org/helpline.html.
Haryana
Haryana police http://haryanapolice.nic.in/Online_Complaints.asp provides a link for online registration of complaints but the link when opened leads to a grievance redressal portal of the Government of Haryana.
Himachal Pradesh
Himachal Pradesh Police has also started online registration of complaints the link to the webpage is given below: http://admis.hp.nic.in/himpol/Citizen/OnlineComplaints.aspx.
Jammu and Kashmir
J&K has an online public grievance monitoring system but neither the J&K police nor the State Women Commission provides a mechanism for the online registration of complaints.
Jharkhand
Jharkhand police provides portal for online complaint registration http://esamadhan.jhpolice.gov.in/. Jharkhand State Commission for Women also provides for online registration of complaints on http://jscw.in/complain_registration.php.
Karnataka
Karnataka has made the process of checking the progress of FIR easier as the person lodging the FIR would get an SMS regarding the progress. As far as the online registration of complaints to the Karnataka Police is concerned, an article in the online edition of The Hindu dated 11th july 2008, says that the Karnataka Police department has started online registration of complaints but as of now you cannot not find any such link on their website http://www.ksp.gov.in. But Karnataka Government has started a Public Grievance Redressal System wherein web complaint may be filed by filling up an online form and detailing the grievances though it is not specifically for registering complaints for crimes against women http://www.janmitra.in/index_eng.php#two. It also provides provision for postal complaints.
Kerala
Kerala State Women’s Commission also allows online filling of the complaints http://keralawomenscommission.gov.in/vanithacase/admin/index.php?type=casefiling
Madhya Pradesh
Madhya Pradesh State Women Commission also provides the facility for the online filing of the problems on http://www.mpswc.nic.in/samasya_darj_kare.html.
Maharashtra
Newspaper reports of February 2010 talk about the online complaint registration mechanism of the Maharashta police but presently no such portal can be found either on the Maharashtra police website or on the state government website.
Manipur
It does not provide for online registration of complaints.
Mizoram
It does not provide for online registration of complaints.
Meghalaya
Meghalaya police is working on the Crime and criminal network and system (CCTNS) project which seeks to provide for the online registration of complaints to the police, though as of now I could not find a link for online registration on the Meghalaya Police website but it provides the database about the progress of the CCTNS project.
Nagaland
Nagaland is in the process of implementing the Crime and criminal network and system (CCTNS) project.
Odisha
Odisha does not have a mechanism for the online registration of complaints. Neither the State women Commission nor the Odisha Police provides for online registration of complaints.
Punjab
NRI and Women Wing of the Punjab police allows online registration of complaints http://www.punjabpolice.gov.in/ComplaintRegistrationNri.aspx.
Rajasthan
Rajasthan Police & Govt. of Rajasthan has launched the ONLINE FIR registration system in Rajasthan under the Crime and Criminal Tracking Network & System (CCTNS) project. But the website link to the ONLINE FIR is yet not available on the official website of Rajasthan Police. http://police.rajasthan.gov.in/
Sikkim
Any online complaint to the Sikkim police may be sent to sikphq@bsnl.in andsikphq@sancharnet.in
Tamil Nadu
The website of the Tamil Nadu police ‘www.tnpolice.gov.in‘ also provides an option for the online registration of complaints.
Tripura
It would also soon come up with the online registration of complaints as the Tripura Police is also working on the CCTNS project.
Uttarakhand
Uttarakhand does not have an online complaint registration system for women, though the state has started a Samadhan portal for grievance redressal of the public.
Uttar Pradesh
UP Police has also launched an online portal for the registration of complaints under the CCTNS project by creating a user ID on https://cctnsup.gov.in/citizen/login.aspx. UP police also says that you can send your Complaints, Grievances and Vital Information helpful in prevention of Crime from your email to the Complaint Cell of Director General of Police UP headed by Inspector General of Police at 1-Tilak Marg Lucknow for prompt action on the following Email Address-digcomplaint-up@nic.in.
West Bengal
As of now West Bengal has not come up with a system of online registration of complaints.
Online FIR registration by the concerned citizens of the country
Concerned citizens of the country have taken a measure to help those who could not get help from their local police or other government agencies. They have thus started a website (http://www.fironline.org/aboutus.php) wherein you can register your FIR online. The operators of the website publish the FIR on the internet. They also plan to send a copy of your FIR to the following people:Offices of the president of the country; Offices of a court of law/judge; National Newspapers; Other national or international organizations; Offices of the highest ranking police officers of the country, so that the authorities are forced to take action on your complaint.
Thus effective measures are being taken to tackle the crimes against women and to provide them a convenient method to register their complaints as now the complaints can even be registered through e-mail or post.
[1] Violence against Women and Children-Issues and Concerns, By Awadhesh Kumar Singh and Jayanta Choudhury, New Delhi, Serials Publications, 2012, p. 2