Only Parliament, not courts, can make anti-rape law gender neutral

The Supreme Court dismissed a petition that sought rape voyeurism, stalking and sex crimes be declared gender-neutral, and said the law was open to change only by Parliament. The law protects women and Parliament has acknowledged a woman as the victims of these offences, it said on Friday. The plea was filed by lawyer Rishi Malhotra who said. "Crime has no gender. The words 'any man' used in the IPC should be removed and replaced with 'any person'," he said. Malhotra noted, "a man does not have any forum to go to if he is stalked or raped". A bench of Chief Justice Dipak Misra and justices AM Khanwilkar and DY Chandrachud rejected the petition and said it is an "imaginative situation" and Parliament can deal with it as per social needs. The court said, "You are saying a woman can also stalk a man. Have you ever seen a woman filing a complaint saying another woman raped her or stalked her? This is an imaginative situation. The law is open to change by Parliament as per social needs." "We are not saying a woman cannot rape a man but for these offences there are other provisions under the IPC". The court said the provisions of the law are "affirmative provisions to protect women" and are gender-neutral.

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