Roop Kanwar Case: Revisiting India's Last Sati Incident

• 10 Oct 2024

Why in News?

Recently, 37 years after Roop Kanwar's death, a Jaipur court acquitted eight individuals accused of glorifying the act of sati, citing insufficient evidence.

Key Points

• Roop Kanwar’s Sati Incident (1987):
  • Roop Kanwar, an 18-year-old woman from Divrala, Rajasthan, allegedly committed sati on 4^th September, 1987, by sitting on her husband's funeral pyre.
  • Thousands of people reportedly witnessed her dressed in "solah shringaar" (16 adornments) and chanting the Gayatri Mantra during the event.
• The Commission of Sati (Prevention) Act, 1987):
  • Enacted after Roop Kanwar’s incident, this law seeks to prevent the practice of sati and its glorification.
  • Important Provisions:
    • Section 3: Punishment for attempt to commit sati, which includes life imprisonment.
    • Section 5: Punishment for glorification of sati, including up to 7 years of imprisonment and a fine of Rs 30,000.
    • Glorification of Sati includes any act of organizing events, creating memorials, or promoting the veneration of a woman who committed sati.

The Commission of Sati (Prevention) Act, 1987

• This act prohibits the practice of Sati against women.
• “Sati” means the act of burning or burying alive of:
  • any widow along with the body of her deceased husband or any other relative or with any article, object or thing associated with the husband or such relative; or
  • any woman along with the body of any of her relatives, irrespective of whether such burning or burying is claimed to be voluntary on the part of the widow or the woman or otherwise.