GENDER EQUALITY AND GENDER NEUTRAL LAWS: THE FUTURE OF SOCIAL JUSTICE IN INDIA

Abstract After the infamous Delhi gang rape incident that took place in the country in the year 2012, there was a dire need to condemn and make stricter laws against such crimes against women. The government constituted a committee under the chairmanship of the former Chief Justice of India, Justice J.S.Varma to suggest guidelines for the protection of women and this was due to take shape in the form of the Criminal Law (Amendment) Act 2013. The recommendations of the committee were however not taken into consideration as a whole and gender sensitive or gender specific laws were framed as a result of bowing down to feminist pressures opposing to gender neutral laws that were recommended by the committee. The author, in the light of the recent Judgments of the Supreme Court of India namely the Triple Talaq Judgment and the Section 498A Judgment (prevention of misuse of the section) tries to examine the loopholes in the Women Protection Laws in India that are gender specific and penalizes only the male gender and does not give equal protection to the male gender with respect to the same crimes being committed against them.. The author throughout this article shows forth how these recent judgments have set the ball rolling towards having laws that are gender neutral in India owing to bestowing equal rights on women which will pave way towards attaining equality and social justice. The author delves into analyzing the current protective legislations in India in the light of gender neutral laws and conclude by suggesting the necessary changes that can be implemented so as to protect all the genders equally under the law and not protecting only a single class at the cost of the other.