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The post-Nirbhaya law that widened the definition of rape and created new offences such as stalking, voyeurism and acid attack.
The Criminal Law (Amendment) Act, 2013 is the law enacted after the December 2012 Delhi gang-rape case to strengthen India's criminal law on sexual offences. It received the President's assent on 2 April 2013 and amended four statutes: the Indian Penal Code, 1860, the Code of Criminal Procedure, 1973, the Indian Evidence Act, and the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences Act, 2012. Its content drew heavily on the report of the Justice J.S. Verma Committee, constituted days after the crime. The Act broadened the legal definition of rape well beyond penile-vaginal penetration, and for the first time made stalking, voyeurism, acid attack and the disrobing of a woman distinct offences in the Penal Code rather than matters to be squeezed into general provisions on hurt or outraging modesty.
Type: LawExpanded the definition of rape — moving well beyond the earlier narrow definition to cover a wider range of non-consensual penetrative acts.
Created new offences in the Indian Penal Code — stalking, voyeurism, acid attack and attempt to acid attack, sexual harassment, and assault with intent to disrobe a woman.
Treated acid attack as a distinct offence rather than clubbing it with grievous hurt, which was a specific recommendation of the Justice Verma Committee.
Amended four laws at once — the Indian Penal Code, 1860, the Code of Criminal Procedure, 1973, the Indian Evidence Act, and the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences Act, 2012.
Strengthened procedure and evidence rules for sexual offence trials, including provisions on recording the statement of the victim and on trial conduct.
Received presidential assent on 2 April 2013, having replaced an ordinance promulgated earlier that year.
Frequency: A standard question in SSC and State PSC general studies; appears in UPSC through governance and social justice questions on laws for women's safety.
On 16 December 2012 a young woman was gang-raped on a moving bus in Delhi and later died of her injuries. The nationwide protests that followed put unusual pressure on the government to reform criminal law quickly. A three-member committee under Justice J.S. Verma was set up within a week and reported within a month; an ordinance followed, and Parliament then enacted the Criminal Law (Amendment) Act, 2013.
The Delhi gang-rape case triggers nationwide protests.
A three-member committee headed by Justice J.S. Verma is constituted to recommend amendments to criminal law on sexual offences.
The Justice Verma Committee submits its report.
The Criminal Law (Amendment) Act, 2013 receives the President's assent.
A further Criminal Law (Amendment) Act follows the Kathua case, prescribing harsher punishment for rape of girls below specified ages.
Justice J.S. Verma Committee
Three-member committee constituted on 23 December 2012 to recommend amendments to criminal law for quicker trials and enhanced punishment for sexual assault; reported on 23 January 2013
National Commission for Women
Statutory body that examines constitutional and legal safeguards for women and recommends remedial legislation; a standing participant in debates on laws of this kind
The 2013 Act marks the point at which Indian criminal law began naming forms of harassment that were previously invisible in the statute book. Before it, stalking and voyeurism had to be prosecuted under general provisions such as outraging a woman's modesty, and an acid attack was treated as grievous hurt — categories that neither matched the conduct nor carried appropriate punishment. Naming an offence changes what police can register and what courts can sentence. The Act is also studied as a case of unusually fast legislative response driven by public protest, and as an example of a high-level committee report translating directly into statute within months.
Criminal Law (Amendment) Act, 2013 — presidential assent on 2 April 2013.
Followed the Delhi gang-rape of 16 December 2012 and the report of the Justice J.S. Verma Committee.
Verma Committee: constituted 23 December 2012, reported 23 January 2013; members Justice J.S. Verma, Justice Leila Seth and Gopal Subramanium.
Amended the IPC 1860, the CrPC 1973, the Indian Evidence Act and the POCSO Act 2012.
Created new offences: stalking, voyeurism, acid attack, sexual harassment, assault with intent to disrobe.
Widened the definition of rape beyond the earlier narrow formulation.
A later Criminal Law (Amendment) Act, 2018 followed the Kathua case with harsher punishments for rape of minors.
It was enacted after the December 2012 Delhi gang-rape case and the resulting nationwide protests, to widen the law on sexual offences and provide for quicker trials and stronger punishment.
Justice J.S. Verma, a former Chief Justice of India. The other members were Justice Leila Seth and Gopal Subramanium, a former Solicitor General of India.
It introduced offences including stalking, voyeurism, acid attack and attempt to acid attack, sexual harassment, and assault with intent to disrobe a woman.
Four: the Indian Penal Code, 1860, the Code of Criminal Procedure, 1973, the Indian Evidence Act, and the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences Act, 2012.
The 2013 Act followed the December 2012 Delhi case and the Verma Committee, widening the definition of rape and creating new offences. The 2018 Act followed the Kathua case and focused on stricter punishment for the rape of girls below specified ages.