Bench Mark

Six months after Mumbai-based model Leena Kapoor accused international cricketing empire Asad Rauf of exploiting her with false promises of marriage, she has withdrawn her complaint, stating she has moved on in life.  Kapoor's accusation hogged headlines at the time, insinuating that Rauf was a crafty and manipulative predator, using her for his own benefit. What transpired between the two, what was promised and reneged on, can only be speculated, but Kapoor is no longer pursuing the matter legally. I'm afraid it'll take a lot longer for Rauf to move on, recover and rebuild his reputation after such a serious charge like sexual exploitation against him. Even if the allegation is completely vindicated, the accusation alone has already caused irreparable damage. It's been a turbulent six months since then: citizens' outrage after the heinous gang rape in Delhi in December has forced the courts to amend existing rape laws, mete out harsher punishments and promise the public zero tolerance towards alleged sex offenders. 

Not that there can ever be a good time for this, but there has never been a worse time in Indian history for any man to be falsely accused of sexual misconduct, when in reality, it could have been a relationship between two consenting adults that didn't work out. It's like Indian citizens have been in hibernation for decades and have suddenly woken up, transformed into sputtering angry beings, intolerant of just about everything, ready to fly into a rage at India Gate at the slightest provocation. The country is bubbling over with fury and in this atmosphere, there is no room for a nuanced debate on anything. Even though in another similar case, the Bombay High Court has ruled that sexual relationship with a woman on a false promise of marriage does not amount to rape. But perception is everything, and even a loose allegation like this is enough to shatter somebody's personal and professional life forever. 

Today, live-in relationships are commonplace and accepted. In times of changing sexual mores, where is the line between exploitation and consensual sex between two adults? Does every man who wants to break up with a girlfriend need to worry about the theory of "Hell hath no fury like a woman scorned"? The government has brought in an ordinance that incorporates some but not all of the recommendations of the Justice Verma Commission, appointed after the fierce street protests, post the Delhi gang rape. Most of them should be cheered, like harsher punishments for stalking and acid attacks and death penalty for extreme cases of assault. But the committee recommends the introduction of a new offence of voyeurism. The Information Technology Act covers the invasion of privacy using electronic devices, but doesn't punish voyeuristic acts such as watching a woman secretly. It's complicated and a little unfair that a woman might have consented to her private images being captured, but that she has the right to use it to her advantage if she so chooses. Even though punishment is due to the perpetrator only if the pictures are disseminated by him to third parties, that is very easy to manipulate. Normal and healthy relationships between men and women that naturally draw to an end, can be unscrupulously misrepresented, and inevitably, this will become another law that is grossly misused. 

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