India is set to have its first registry for sex offenders but government departments and law enforcement agencies are still debating whether the details should be made public, the home ministry has told the Supreme Court. The Centre is skeptical about publishing the information as it could have a negative impact on those who turn out to be "innocent" later and their "return to the mainstream" with their public naming and shaming.

DEMANDS FOR TOUGH ACTION

The move comes amid widespread demands for tougher action on sexual violence, more than three years since the fatal gang rape of a physiotherapy student in Delhi. The apex court has suggested that the government can go ahead with listing names of those who have been convicted. "The draft guidelines on the proposal to set up a sex offenders registry in India is under preparation in consultation with relevant ministries/organizations before they are put out for wider consultation with the state governments and the public," the MHA said in an affidavit filed in the SC.

"The initial consultation draft includes the registration of individuals convicted for offences like rape voyeurism, stalking and aggravated sexual assault and includes possibility of registration of offenders below and above 18 years." Sex-offender registries exist in many countries including Australia, Canada, New Zealand, the United States, Trinidad and Tobago, Jamaica, South Africa, the United Kingdom and Ireland. But among these, the US is the only country with a registry that is publicly accessible.

SUNITHA KRISHNAN PUSHING FOR MOVE

In other countries the databases are only available to law enforcement agencies. Some observers fear that identifying convicted rapists will lead to vigilante attacks. The affidavit came on a PIL filed by social activist Sunitha Krishnan, founder of the NGO Prajwala, who says she has rescued and rehabilitated more than 10,000 rape victims. She had sought such a register given the steep rise in the number of rapes and shockingly videos of such incidents being uploaded on social media.

Krishnan, who received 200 such videos from victims and forwarded them to the SC bench that ordered a CBI probe, told Mail Today: "From most of the videos, it is clear that this is not the offender's first rape due to the ease with which the men go about the act." The database will likely include personal details of the convicted including their residential address, fingerprints, DNA samples, and identity card information like the PAN card with tax ID and Aadhaar card that contains biometric information, minister of state for home Kiren Rijiju told Parliament in April. The MHA has also said that an agency - Indian Cyber Crime Coordination Committee (ICCCC) - with pan-India jurisdiction to probe such clips and take action against the criminals is also being constituted at a cost of nearly `200 crore.

Elaborating on its importance, Krishnan said, "It (an agency) is very essential for prompt action. As of now, what is happening is when I am sitting in Hyderabad I get a video from Kashmir or Haryana. The local police say they do not have the jurisdiction to act on it. But ICCCC can immediately lodge an FIR, investigate and take action against the offenders."

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