The Indian government has issued a fresh advisory to states on mandatory action in cases of crimes against women saying that probe into rape cases must be completed within two months.
The government also said that the dying declaration of a victim cannot be discarded merely because it has not been recorded by a magistrate.
The three-page advisory of the Union home ministry came in the wake of the alleged gang rape and murder of a Dalit woman at Hathras in Uttar Pradesh that sparked nationwide outrage.
The law also enables the police to register an FIR in case the crime is committed outside the jurisdiction of a police station in the event of receipt of information on sexual assault on women, the ministry said.
The home ministry told the states that Section 173 of the Criminal Procedure Code provides for completion of police investigation in relation to rape in two months and Section 164-A of the Code provides that in rape or sexual assault investigation, the victim should be examined by a registered medical practitioner under consent within 24 hours from the time of receiving the information relating to the commission of such offence.
It said the Indian Evidence Act, 1872, provides that the statement, written or verbal by a person, who is dead, shall be treated as relevant fact in the investigation when it is made by a person as to the cause of his (or her) death or as to any of the circumstances of the transaction which resulted in his (or her) death.❐
