BJP Government had introduced three criminal laws replacing few cannons of colonial era, in order to customize criminal justice in backdrop of fast changing scenario of 21st century’s modern India.
Recent initiative is possible for India after a gap of one and half century targeting sharply to address the crime against women and children. Of course, national security is also one of the subjects of these new legal reforms.
Indian Penal Code had come in to force in India in the year 1862, hence after 162 years of centuries old implementation, new criminal laws came into effect across the country on 1st of July 2024.
On 28th day of June, 2024, just three days before this enactment of historic legal code in India, at state of Assam situated in the Northeastern part of India, a film “Kooki” is released, screening few alarming questions on the relief, awarded to the rape victim in Indian jurisprudence–
1) Is it possible for Indian judicial system, to touch the emotion, sentiment and feelings of a rape victim, aftermath the occurrence of crime?
2) Is it possible to believe that, awarding of punishment to guilty person shall be a total relief to heal the psychological wound and rampant social humiliation?
3) Relevancy of connections and disconnections between “rule of law” and “delivery of justice”
4) A person is being innocent until proven guilty in the court of law, if “guilty not proved”, and criminality is unproven fact?
5) It is necessary to opt for alternative judicial remedies beyond this prevailing centuries old system
INTRODUCTION: – Story of the film “Kooki” is about heart rending mental sufferance of a 16 years old teen girl Kooki, gang raped left abandoned to die at horrific rainy night on crime scene.
LANGUAGE IN THE FILM: – Director Pranab J Deka, added some uniqueness features in the film. English, Hindi and Assamese, all three languages are nicely blended in the script. Even though this film is Hindi yet as per choice and situation application of language is varied from character to character.
USE OF ASSAMESE ETHOS:- Kooki is of course a Hindi film, but use of Assamese Dhooti- Gamucha as costume, food item “pitha” (traditional rice cake of Assam), profound cultural itineraries of Assam like Namghor, Bhaona, Nagera Nam, few shots of District Session Court of Tezpur, shooting of criminal hideouts at in a popular area of Uzan Bazar had rooted emotion of the viewers to the soils and sentiments of Assam.
NO ANIMAL IS HARMED: – Presence a native street dog and another foreign breed dog acted as catalyst, to expedite the content at the beginning. However, there is a declaration that no animal was harmed during the shooting of the film.
ROLE OF SOCIAL MEDIA: – Director of the film inserted use of electronic tools of our day to day life. Rampant use of whats’app, among modern day teens and it’s social impact in their personal life is another noteworthy aspect of the film.
KOOKI AT CANNES: – The concept and story of “Kooki” was belong to the producer Dr. Junmoni Devi Khaund. Hindi film “Kooki” , subtitled in English is already screened at Marche du Film in Cannes Film Festival 2024.
PLOT OF THE FILM: – The film is symbolically narrating the Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) of thousands of rape survivor of India. Post Traumatic Stress Disorder is a psychiatric disorder that is witnessed among the people who suffered from traumatic events or witnessed series of events in a particular set of circumstances. It can be recalled that Delhi Gang rape Case of 2012, popularly known as “Nirbhaya Case” created sensation across the country. Soon after the culprits were hanged, Asha Devi, the mother of Nirbhaya who is now an ardent social activist fighting for crime against women, said “cases of crimes against women is not decreased still, laws were made, but nothing was done. Sometimes we get so disappointed by the feeling that nothing is going to change”.
According to the reports of National Crime Record Bureau (NCRB), in India, crime against women is increasing alarmingly. In the year 2022, total number of 4, 45,256 cases of crime against women were registered. That means, every average hours in India, 87 women were sexually assaulted, 51 FIRs filed across the country.
National Crime Record Bureau further says that, in India crimes against women rose by 4% in 2022 as compared to 2021. Statistical breakup of the crime records are as follows:-
- Cruelty by husband or his relatives: 31.4%
- Kidnapping and abduction of women: 19.2%
- Assault on women with intent to outrage: 18.7%
- Rape: 7.1%:
- A total of 31,516 rape cases were recorded in 2022 in India
Recent introduction of Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita and the Bharatiya Sakshya Adhiniyam of course will bring new horizon in the world of criminal laws of India, however its total success shall be subject to the change of attitude of every Indian citizen.
