10 years of Nirbhaya: Conviction rate in crimes against women just 26.5% in India

The pendency rate of cases in crimes against women was at a shocking 95 per cent

The horrific Nirbhaya rape case in Delhi a decade ago brought in sharp focus on crimes against women and their safety. People mobilised to shake awake a complacent establishment, and several task forces, funds and schemes came into existence. Whether these measures bore success, is a different story. However, ten years on, the country’s legal books paint a morbid picture of crime against women.

The conviction rate in cases of crime against women in India stood at a measely 26.5 per cent in 2021, down from 29.8 per cent in 2020. The pendency rate of cases was at a shocking 95 per cent. This means that courts are able to dispose of only 5 per cent of cases.

Also read: Judicial remarks in rape cases that stoked debates in India

However, it is worth noting that 2021 is the first year in the past five years that the pendency rate has fallen, even if by a small margin.

Crime against women	Conviction rate	Pendency rate
2021	26.5%	95%
2020	29.8%	95.5%
2019	23.7%	91.2%
2018	23.1%	90.7%
2017	24.6%	89.6%

Data from the National Crime Records Bureau (NCRB) shows a sad state of affairs, with seven states having conviction rate below 10 per cent. West Bengal fared the worst among states, with a 2.5 per cent conviction rate.

State	Lowest conviction rate	Pendency rate
West Bengal	2.5%	98.1%
Assam	3.9%	95.8%
Gujarat	5%	97.4%
Goa	5.3%	95.3%
Andhra Pradesh	5.6%	86.7%

The report shows that a whopping 21,21,755 cases of crimes against women were filed in 2021, of which 23,243 ended in convictions and 60,290 ended in acquittals. The highest number of cases came from West Bengal (3,37,924) and the lowest came from Ladakh (41).

In 2021, 4,28,806 persons were arrested for committing crimes against women, 5,55,089 were chargesheeted, 33,725 were convicted and 1,07,324 were acquitted.

Specifically talking about rape cases, 30,016 cases were registered last year, with most coming from Rajasthan (6,337), followed by Madhya Pradesh (2,947), Uttar Pradesh (2,845) and Maharashtra (2,496).

These numbers are said to be massively lower than real estimates. On the basis of the National Family Health Survey (2015-16), a Livemint report calculated that over 99 per cent rape cases in India go unreported. Social stigma and fear of retaliation are the main factors that stand in the way of a victim coming forward.

The low conviction rate has been a concern for many years. It is said that victims do not have much say in the legal processes of these crimes. In a major portion of cases of crime against women, the perpetrators are known to the victims. In 2021, 1,594 cases were registered as rape by relatives, guardians, or someone in a position of trust. Therefore, in court, victims often change their statements and many cases are settled out of the court, mostly without the will of the victim.

A delay in cases being heard may also be a reason for conviction rates to be so low.