Rape, sexual assault and insult to modesty cases are an extremely important concern in the country. In totality, 71,142 cases were registered under rape, sexual assault and insult to modesty cases in 2021 and 1,83,306 cases were pending investigation. Sexual offences have played an immensely important role in the reform of procedural criminal law. Three legislations are particularly important in this regard- the Code of Criminal Procedure (Amendment) Act, 2005, the Criminal Law (Amendment) Act, 2013 and the Criminal Law (Amendment) Act, 2018. These three legislations have significantly altered the legal landscape when it comes to sexual offences law. This paper analyses whether these legislations have succeeded in achieving procedural justice for victims of sexual offences and tests the ability of institutions to comply with procedural justice requirements with a particular focus on the Code of Criminal Procedure, 1973. Almost 30 years of data from 1993-2021 has been culled from the National Crime Records Bureau’s annual Crime in India Reports. This data has then been analysed to evaluate the effectiveness of statutory intervention in achieving greater procedural justice. Three aspects of justice have been analysed- Access to Justice, Speed of Justice and Grant of Justice. The data discussed here raise significant concerns about how statutory reforms translate to real-world implementation in the context of sexual offences and whether or not they succeed in justice delivery. Among the various concerns are the sustainability and scope of positive change and potential regression in certain areas.
