Cyberabad police moots launch of registry of sex offenders

Cyberabad Police Commissioner Stephen Raveendra says an Act needs to be passed by the State government, following which they can work on the registry

India’s first sexual offenders registry, with information available to the public to access, is likely to be launched this year as the Cyberabad police will be sending a proposal to the Telangana State government in March. 

Cyberabad Police Commissioner Stephen Raveendra said that the proposal will be sent and that an Act needs to be passed by the State government, which has to be approved by the legal cell as well, following which we can work on how the registry will work and operate. 

“The registry will have repeat sex offenders, including sexual harassment, human trafficking, animal abuse, unnatural sex and those involved in PoCSO cases. We are planning to also add the names of those involved in heinous incidents even if it is a first offence, specially the ones involving minors,” said the official. 

The Cyberabad Police earlier consulted with Sunitha Krishnan from Prajwala Foundation to make a presentation on the proposed registry. The concept was pitched by Ms. Krishnan to IT Minister K.T. Rama Rao via Twitter, who later asked the then Telangana State DGP Mahender Reddy to follow up on the same. It was decided that the Cyberabad police will be proposing the concept to the State government. 

Sunitha Krishnan explained that the registry is for convicted offenders only and not who are allegedly accused. “I submitted a presentation before the police based on my research of 30 countries. It will not only be a repository but will also have components of classified offenders categorised with nature of offence etc. A conviction done by the lowest court will also be taken and the name will be immediately removed if there is an acquittal in the case from a higher court. The registry will not have names of juvenile offenders. Unlike other countries where a public notification of the offenders is given with a GPS location, we will have all details kept in a proper order for the public to access. One can submit a request with a name and other official identification details to access the registry and check if the person’s name is in there. A nodal officer will be authorised to respond to the requests. Registering an accused on this will be a part of the punishment wherein post a conviction, the details will be logged in,” she explained. 

During an event held at the Cyberabad Commissionerate building in December 2022, IT Minister K.T. Rama Rao had urged Home Minister Mohd Mahboob Ali and the Cyberabad police to work on the registry. “Once listed in the registry, they will be prohibited from jobs and from using any facilities from the government,” he said at the event.