Indian Journal of Medical Ethics Vol III No 3 July-September 2018

Five years post Nirbhaya: Critical insights into the status of response to
sexual assault

SUNITA VS BANDEWAR, AMITA PITRE, LAKSHMI LINGAM

Abstract In September 2017, two regressive judgments in rape cases

It is five years since the fatal gang rape of Jyothi Singh (Nirbhaya), caused an uproar in the country. These are the Jindal Global
a physiotherapy student, on December 16, 2012, in New Delhi, Law School (henceforth JGLS) gang rape case and the
the capital of India. The legal and policy reforms triggered by the Mahmood Farooqui case. Both cases date back to 2015. In the
Nirbhaya case will remain a watershed moment in the history JGLS gang rape case, the Punjab and Haryana High Court (3)
of efforts towards seeking justice for survivors of gender-based suspended the sentence awarded by the Additional District
violence in India. The Criminal Law (Amendment) Act, 2013 and and Sessions Court in March 2017 (4) and granted bail to all
the “Guidelines and protocols: Medico-legal care for survivors/ three accused. The High Court argued, “The testimony of the
victims of sexual violence” issued by the Ministry of Health and victim does offer an alternate story of casual relationship with
Family Welfare in March 2014 are two landmark reforms. March her friends, acquaintances, adventurism and experimentation
2018 marks four years since the issuance of these Guidelines in sexual encounters and these factors would, therefore, offer
and five years since the Criminal Law (Amendment) Act, 2013. compelling reasons to consider the prayer for suspension of
Any reasonable tribute to Nirbhaya would constitute fair sentence favourably particularly when the accused themselves
implementation of legal reforms, efforts to strengthen multi- are young and the narrative does not throw up gut-wrenching
sectoral response and sincere attempts to reduce crimes against violence, that normally precede or accompany such incidents.”
women, gender and sexual minorities, and children. (3: pp. 9-10)

This paper reviews the issue, through a close study of recent The judgment in the JGLS case raises several old
cases of rape, police responses, court judgements, studies, news questions once again: should a woman’s “adventurism and
reporting and field-based observations. It brings forth the gaps experimentation in sexual encounters”, “casual relationships
in implementation that persist, and constitute a major obstacle with friends” strip her of her right to autonomy and dignity?
in making these progressive policies and reforms effective. Should every encounter of rape be accompanied by “gut-
Given the fact that the reforms are intersectoral in nature, wrenching violence” for it to be considered a crime against
implementation has been particularly challenging. Lack of women arousing public and government response? Should
efficient implementation of such policies and reforms amounts to every rape case be like that of Nirbhaya and Jisha2 (5)? Feminist
denying survivors their right to justice. movements and feminist organisations have argued that, “…
In so doing, the Punjab and Haryana HC has strengthened the
Background
dangerously patriarchal notion that rape is not rape when
The recently released National Crime Records Bureau (NCRB) the woman is “promiscuous”, and that “promiscuous” women
Report 2016 (1) records an increase of 12.4% in rape cases from invite rape since their “promiscuity” can be read as consent.
34,651 in 2015 to 38,947 in 2016. The number of cases of sexual And what has been the relevance of post Nirbhaya reforms if
assault is on the rise, due to improved reporting and possibly it is not able to crack the mindsets of those who are critical to
due to an actual increase in these crimes. In this paper we look delivering justice? It also stands in clear violation of the Indian
at how women are faring in securing justice by reviewing some Evidence Act that specifically prohibits referencing the victim’s
recent judgments, and analysing the implementation of legal sexual history or character in an adjudication of cases of sexual
reforms initiated by the Government of India in the wake of assault. …” (6).
the Nirbhaya1 incident (2).
In the Farooqui case, the Delhi High Court dismissed the well-
argued judgment of the trial court (7) awarding Farooqui a
Authors: Sunita VS Bandewar (corresponding author - [Link]@ seven-year jail term and fine of Rs 50,000, for sexually abusing
[Link]), Senior Research Fellow, Tata Institute of Social Sciences, Mumbai, a research scholar from Columbia University. The Delhi High
INDIA; and Founding Trustee, Vidhayak Trust, Pune; Amita Pitre (amitapitre@
[Link]), Doctoral candidate, Tata Institute of Social Sciences, Mumbai, Court judgement dated September 25, 2017 (8) is founded
INDIA; Lakshmi Lingam (lakshmil@[Link]), Professor, School of Media and on skepticism about the “lack of consent” by the prosecutrix,
Cultural Studies, Tata Institute of Social Sciences, Mumbai, INDIA
that is, the survivor/victim. Contravening the current legal
To cite: Bandewar SVS, Pitre A, Lingam L. Five years post Nirbhaya: Critical framework under Section 375 of the Indian Penal Code (IPC),
insights into the status of response to sexual assault. Indian J Med Ethics.
2018 Jul-Sep;3(5) NS:215-21. DOI: 10.20529/IJME.2018.025 1860 amended under the Criminal Law (Amendment) Act,
Published online on March 28, 2018.
(henceforth CLA, 2013) (9) the judgment says, “Instances of
woman behaviour are not unknown that a feeble ‘no’ may
Manuscript Editor: Sandhya Srinivasan
mean a ‘yes’. If the parties are strangers, the same theory may
© Indian Journal of Medical Ethics 2018
not be applied… But same would not be the situation when

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Indian Journal of Medical Ethics Vol III No 3 July-September 2018

parties are known to each other, are persons of letters and Legislative reforms post Nirbhaya
are intellectually/academically proficient, and if, in the past, The CLA 2013 (9) and the “Guidelines and protocols: Medico-
there have been physical contacts. In such cases, it would be legal care for survivors/victims of sexual violence” (henceforth
really difficult to decipher whether little or no resistance and MoHFW Guidelines) (16) are two landmark responses of the
a feeble ‘no’, was actually a denial of consent.” (8: p. 59). In this Government of India to the public protests across the country
case the submission to the Delhi High Court by Vrinda Grover that the Nirbhaya case evoked in December 2012. March 2018
(10) acting for the prosecutrix draws attention to the “… will mark four years since the issuance of these guidelines.
manner in which the character and past sexual history of the A third response has been to institute “One Stop Centres” to
prosecutrix was repeatedly referred to by the defense during provide immediate to long-term care for survivors of GBV.
oral arguments, despite a clear injunction of law in this regard”.
(10: p. 47). This clearly discounts and disrespects Section 53A of The MoHFW Guidelines (16) are operational tools facilitating
the Indian Evidence Act (IEA), 1872 amended under CLA 2013 implementation of various sections of the law (including but
(9), which makes the past sexual history of the prosecutrix not restricted to CLA 2013 (9)) binding on healthcare providers.
irrelevant, in cases relating to rape and other sexual offences. They provide guidance on: creating a safe environment for
the survivor to speak about the assault, providing physical
Another case that caught the attention of the media and the and psychological care to the survivor including reproductive
civil society is the gang rape of a young girl in Bhopal in a busy healthcare, collecting forensic evidence while maintaining
area (11). Responses of the police (resistance to filing a first the dignity and autonomy of the survivor, safeguarding the
information report) (11), the examining doctor (12), and the rights and meeting the requirements of survivors who may
concerned minister only demonstrate that the post Nirbhaya be children, persons with disability, belonging to gender and
reforms have no relevance for them. The minister’s response sexual minorities, and/or facing difficulties with language.
was to make a public announcement banning coaching Although referred to as “Guidelines”, they ought to be legally
classes after 8 pm. (11, 13). These responses demonstrate that binding on healthcare service providers because of the
representatives of the healthcare system and government are legislative frameworks that inform them.
entirely oblivious to what causes gender-based violence (GBV)
Section 357C of CLA 2013 (9), among other progressive
and continue to advocate that stopping women and girls from
aspects, recognises the right to no-cost first-aid or medical
being out on the streets is a solution to contain such violence.
treatment in public and private healthcare facilities for all
The aforementioned judgments and the institutional response survivors of sexual violence. Furthermore, failure to treat and
to the Bhopal gang rape are not exceptions. The Human Rights provide medico-legal care is now an offence under Section
Watch (HRW) report “Everybody Blames Me” (14) refers to a 166B of the IPC as per the CLA 2013 (9).
number of judgments that entertained two-finger-test (TFT) Respecting survivors’ agency and autonomy as healthcare
results and doctors who explicitly mentioned “habituated to providers, responding to survivors when they approach the
sexual intercourse” in their medical opinions. The TFT places on healthcare system, asserting the irrelevance of sexual history
record the sexual history of the prosecutrix, thereby adversely of survivors/victims of sexual assault and TFT, and including
impacting the outcome of legal proceedings. The Supreme sexual assault forensic evidence (SAFE) kits3 in the Guidelines
Court in 2013 condemned the use of TFT as it violates survivors’ are some of the key aspects of these reforms. Complementing
right to privacy, physical and mental integrity and dignity (15). the reforms, the government has also made announcements
The HRW report (14) suggests that both the medico-legal (17, 18), regarding prevention of such crimes and safeguarding
practitioners and judiciary continue with their ill-informed the interests of survivors. Implemented together, in letter and
practices despite the CLA 2013 (9) and a Supreme Court spirit, these were all expected to deeply impact the responses
condemnation (15). of the police, judiciary and healthcare systems to survivors
The report also documents a wide range of issues on the of sexual assault. They would have contributed to ensuring
delivery of justice to survivors of GBV.
ground in terms of persistent gaps in enforcing the laws, policies
and guidelines meant to secure justice for survivors of sexual The most recent National Health Policy 2017 (19) explicitly
violence. It draws on insights from in-depth research into 21 rape articulates the government’s commitment to strengthening
cases, review of research by organisations from within India, and women’s access to healthcare “…by making public hospitals
conversations with more than 65 individuals including survivors, more women-friendly and ensuring that the staff have
their family members, lawyers, civil society activists, advocates, orientation to gender–sensitivity issues. This policy notes
doctors, forensic experts, and government and police officials. with concern the serious and wide-ranging consequences of
This empirical reality warrants reflection on the reforms post GBV and recommends that the health care to the survivors/
Nirbhaya and raises questions as to what efforts are being made victims need to be provided free and with dignity in the public
by the government and various concerned authorities from and private sector.” (19: p 14). However, it would certainly not
across sectors to plug the gaps between the reforms and their be meaningful without a system in place that would facilitate
implementation. This paper provides a broad overview of the successful implementation and realisation of the ultimate
ground reality post-Nirbhaya reforms. goals.

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 Indian Journal of Medical Ethics Vol III No 3 July-September 2018

We have identified key domains of concern regarding the amended under CLA 2013 (9) mandates that hospitals report
implementation of the reforms that require the immediate all cases of sexual offences to the police. Failure to report is
attention of the concerned government offices. treated as a punishable offence under Section 166B of the IPC
amended under CLA 2013 (9). The CLA, 2013 (9), by raising the
MoHFW Guidelines: Major gaps in implementation age of consent to 18 years, has clubbed both consensual and
In the absence of any policy guidance regarding the non-consensual sexual relations among young people as a
implementation of the MoHFW Guidelines (16), a number of criminal act. Combined with the Protection of Children Against
matters remain ambiguous. These include lack of guidance Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act, 2012 (26), sexual activity below
from the state and central governments regarding (a) the the age of 18 years, both marital and pre-marital, comes under
time frame within which and the mechanism by which the the scanner. For example, as per this provision in POSCO if any
healthcare system must equip itself to address sexual violence girl younger than 18 years approaches a doctor for treatment
(b) resource allocation for infrastructure, human resources, of sexually transmitted infections or for a Medical Termination
capacity building and an internal monitoring system and (d) of Pregnancy (with due consent of a parent or guardian), the
pathways for inter-departmental collaboration for extending healthcare centre is expected to report it as a case of sexual
comprehensive support to survivors. abuse to the authorities, irrespective of her wishes and consent.
Similarly, if any young girl or woman approaching a health
Adoption of the MoHFW Guidelines by the states is an facility for treatment is suspected to be a victim of sexual
important first step towards implementation. According to assault, it has to be reported without heeding her version
the HRW report (14), so far only nine states have adopted or recognising her reproductive rights. These contradictory
these Guidelines. The Kerala government issued its own provisions impinge on women and children’s rights to
version of the guidelines for the state healthcare system comprehensive health care, their right to refuse medical
(20), undermining the very spirit of the MoHFW Guidelines examination or file an FIR with the police, and their access to
(16). The Kerala version ignores a number of progressive early and safe abortion services (27).
provisions and has guidelines to the contrary (21). Although
amending guidelines may fall within the jurisdiction of state A recent Supreme Court judgment (28), for the first time in
governments, such subversion is alarming and makes a case for India, has read down the marital rape exception, although
all states to adopt the MoHFW Guidelines (16) in toto. only limited to an underage wife. On the other hand, read with
the increase in age of consent and POCSO, it again conflates
Slippery slope: Age of consent and mandatory the distinction between consensual and non-consensual sex
reporting and makes the will and consent of the woman immaterial. As
per the National Family Health Survey 4 (2015-16) (29), 27% of
A research study in India (22) reports that 19% of men
women aged between 20 and 24 years were married below
(between the ages of 15 to 29) and 9% of women (between
the ages of 15 to 24) had a romantic relationship before they the age of 18 years. While early age at marriage and pregnancy
were married. Of those in a partnership, 44% of young men are key concerns for the country, criminalising all consensual
and 26% of young women had progressed to having sex sexual relations undermines the sexual and reproductive rights
with their partner. Overall 15% of men and 4% of women of adolescents and young adults.
reported having pre-marital sex. Of these, one in seven women These provisions are resulting in women and girls preferring
who were in a romantic relationship with an opposite-sex not to access treatment from formal services. These
partner, reported that her first sexual contact was forced. The contradictions are leading to ethical dilemmas for doctors
probability of girls and boys being in a romantic relationship while offering services to survivors. These contradictions need
increased with increase in age, from early adolescence to late to be reviewed and appropriately addressed.
adolescence to early adulthood.

Other studies show that in nearly a quarter to a third of rape Under-utilisation of the Nirbhaya Fund
cases registered, the girl states in the court that she had The central government announced the creation of a Nirbhaya
consensual sex with the man (23, 24, 25). Fund in its 2013 union budget. An allocation was made of Rs
1,000 crore per year for three years starting from the financial
Even when there are cases of sexual abuse of women, young
year of 2013-14. This sum of Rs 3,000 crore is a non-lapsable
girls and boys that call for attention, legal reforms have
corpus fund to support initiatives by the government and
brought in a set of new contradictions such as the refusal to
NGOs working towards protecting the dignity of women
recognise pre-marital consensual sex and a blanket denial of
in India and ensuring their safety. Some of the initiatives
the right to consent for girls below 18 years.
envisaged to be undertaken with the Nirbhaya Fund were
The legal reforms under discussion here pose certain technological fixes to deal with issues of women’s safety. These
challenges due to the contradictions inherent in protecting include: introduction of an SOS button in phones which was
the privacy of the woman/girl on the one hand, and ensuring to be launched in 157 cities in two phases; a pilot scheme of
that all cases receive attention through mandatory reporting. setting up an SOS alert system in trains in central and western
Section 357C of the Criminal Procedure Code, 1973, as zones through a railway helpline, and installation of closed

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circuit television (CCTV) cameras and GPS in public transport recommendation by the government to set up OSCs on a pilot
in 32 towns each with a population of over one million; setting basis has also featured prior to the Nirbhaya case in the report
up of One Stop Crises Centres (OSCs) in every district as by the Working Group on Women’s Agency and Empowerment,
single point access for victims of sexual assault and domestic 12th Plan (36). This formal commitment to OSCs by the
violence; a victim compensation fund for rehabilitation of government has been an important step forward and a solid
victims of acid attacks; and a programme named “Shubh” for building block in strengthening the overall system, which
mapping vulnerabilities and identifying areas and categories of would be responsive to survivors of sexual assault.
women who need special protection measures such as women
The purpose of these OSCs is to give women easy access to
in sex-work or widowed women (30). Have these schemes
the police, medical facilities, emotional support and other
taken off over the past four years? Are they making a difference
required services. Each Centre is expected to be equipped with
to affected individuals and their families? How much of the
a psychologist, a doctor, a nurse, a lawyer, police and facility for
allocated funds has actually been spent to date?
8 beds, which can be expanded (37). Police and NGO run OSCs
Under-utilisation of the Nirbhaya Fund was criticised have been set up across several states in the country along
extensively in the popular press to the extent that the Supreme with Special Cells for Women and Children to address domestic
Court of India issued a notice in May 2016 (31) to the Centre violence. The clarification by the MWCD in Jan 2017 via a press
and all the state governments questioning the non-utilisation release (17) mentions that 79 OSCs have become operational
of the Nirbhaya Fund. In response, the government issued a and all of the total 186 OSCs would become operational by
clarification in January 2017 (17) that the Ministry of Finance July 2017. The most recent update could only be found in a
had issued guidelines from time to time for administration press release dated Aug 4, 2017 (33). It mentions, “The Ministry
and utilisation of the fund. According to this clarification, of Women and Child Development (MWCD) has set up 151
the amount allocated to different projects or schemes Centres till date under the new scheme of One Stop Centres
under the Nirbhaya Fund until Jan 2017 was approximately (OSCs) for women affected by violence. 30,000 such women
Rs 1,530 crores and the expenditure incurred until then affected by violence have been assisted at these centres till
was approximately Rs 400 crore. While the Ministry records date. … The WCD Ministry is trying to get 600 OSCs for setting
show the allocation of the fund to different ministries and up across the country ....”. (33: p. 1). This shows that the target
NGOs, there is not much information available on where the of setting 186 OSCs by July 2017 has already been missed
funds have been utilised. It appears that the schemes and and there is no timeline stated for completing the new target
projects under the Nirbhaya Fund have been drafted but not of establishing 600 OSCs. Other than this brief press release,
implemented at ground level (32). there is no further detailed update available on the website of
MWCD. The last update available on the WCD website is dated
Mobile applications and their status 20154.
The Ministry of Communications and Information Technology In the absence of any detailed information that is easily
issued a notification mandating the facility of a panic button accessible even to researchers and civil society, to have
and inbuilt global positioning system (GPS) from January 1, mere announcements regarding OSCs to be established in
2017, and January 1, 2018, respectively (18). The press release large numbers is disconcerting. Would these be equipped
by the government dated August 4, 2017 (33) indicated that with appropriately trained human resources? Are there
the aforementioned timelines were missed. This press release standard operating procedures to be followed at each of
mentions that these buttons were to be made operational by these? What systems are put in place to ensure inter-sectoral
the end of September 2017, without any explanations for the engagement in general, and for each case the OSC receives,
inordinate delay. in particular? Are there robust systems in place for awareness
On the other hand, the pre-occupation with technological generation among the communities and key stakeholders
fixes such as mobile panic buttons assumes that a majority about the existence of these centres and mechanisms to
of sexual assaults are like Nirbhaya’s, by strangers, in alien access information? Above all, are they being reviewed and
places and after dark. According to information obtained evaluated?
from the NCRB report (1) and a study by Partners for Law and Inadequate resources at the OSCs, lack of awareness about
Development, New Delhi (34), a majority of sexual assaults OSCs among women, and inability to serve as “One Stop”
takes place at home or in familiar places, and by relatives, centres due to poor coordination across various stakeholders,
employers or acquaintances. This should be borne in mind and co-existence of multiple protocols seem to be critically
more emphasis laid on tailoring services to the reality of sexual impinging on the functioning of the OSCs. At present there
assaults seen in India. seem to be two models of OSCs: functioning either on hospital
or police premises or are non-government organisations
The current status of One Stop Centres are entrusted to set them up and run. They are expected to
Post Nirbhaya, the Justice (Retd.) Usha Mehra Commission (35) handle cases under the Protection of Women from Domestic
mandated the establishment of OSCs at notified hospitals to Violence Act, 2005 (38), POCSO, 2012 (26) and CLA, 2013 (9).
help victims of sexual assault and ensure speedy justice. The The idea of hospital-based crisis centres is important because

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 Indian Journal of Medical Ethics Vol III No 3 July-September 2018

public hospitals can provide affirmative confidential, one-stop the main accused by the Delhi High Court (7) has been rejected
access to physical and emotional healthcare, legal services (44). The trend of under-utilisation of Nirbhaya funds continues
and linkages to shelter homes, skill training for rape survivors/ as reflected in the reply in February 2018 by the MWCD to an
victims of GBV. These services are expected to be integrated RTI application (45). According to this, so far only less than 30
within the functioning of the hospital. But the current design of per cent of the current total Rs 3,100 crores of the Nirbhaya
OSCs - merely being present in the premises of public hospitals funds has been utilised.
- is not geared towards integrated services.
And finally, preliminary insights into our current empirical
research - supported by the Department of Health Research,
Discussion
Indian Council of Medical Research - to understand the
The problem of implementation gaps, ie, the shortfall between response of the public health care system in Maharashtra and
the government’s legislative commitment to addressing a Telangana to GBV indicate that much concrete work needs to
particular issue and the translation of that commitment into be done towards making a difference to survivors of sexual
concrete measures, is a global concern across the sectors assault.
(39). The policies and laws related to GBV are no exception to
this trend. A six-country report (40) on implementation gaps Funding support: This manuscript was developed as part the
relating to GBV laws notes that there is mounting evidence project titled Enhancing the Quality of Response of the Health
that implementation often has serious deficiencies. Similarly, Care System to Sexual Assault (Grant Ref no: GIA/8/2014-DHR)
Garcia-Moreno and colleagues (41) note that implementation supported by the Department of Health Research, Indian Council
of progressive legislation is lagging far behind. In their of Medical Research.
“call to action” they include a recommendation relating to
Conflict of interest: The authors declare that they have no
enforcement of laws, implementation of policies, and
competing interests.
strengthening of institutional capacities.
Notes
Our insights into the status of implementation of reforms 1
On the night of December 16, 2012, a young girl boarded a private
post Nirbhaya speak to the problem of implementation bus in Delhi along with her male friend. Inside the bus they were
gaps. A close review of a few cases, poor utilisation of funds, brutally assaulted by four men. The girl, now known as ‘Nirbhaya’ in
misguided focus on technologies in place of strengthening of commemoration of her courage, was brutally gang raped. So brutal was
the assault that she died of her injuries on December 29, 2012.
institutions, and contradictions in the legal provisions seem to 2
Jisha, a student of Ernakulam’s Government Law College, was found
be posing fresh challenges. There is much to be undertaken raped and murdered on April 28, 2016, at her home. Her body bore
in the realm of capacity building of all the stakeholders to multiple stab wounds and marks of torture. The case caused a public
harmonise the existing responses, protocols and practices, outcry in Kerala.
3
The kit contains the protocol, a checklist and a manual to guide
an area not touched upon by this paper. An integrated
examination of survivors along with all the necessary materials required
response by the Ministries of Women and Child Development, for forensic examination of survivors.
Health and Family Welfare and Home Affairs is needed. The 4
The MWCD portal has posted the minutes of the first six meetings of the
government needs to solicit greater collaboration and support PAB held between April 28, 2015 and June 18, 2015 during which OSC
proposals from fourteen states had been discussed and approved. They
from women’s groups, civil society organisations, academic
have also posted sanction orders for these fourteen states. Thereafter
institutions, medical colleges, law schools and the IT industry there are no updates available on this portal. [Link]
to ensure that care and justice are not denied through sheer schemes/one-stop-centre-scheme-1
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Evaluation of research in India: Are we doing it right?

MUTHU MADHAN, SUBBIAH GUNASEKARAN, SUBBIAH ARUNACHALAM*

Abstract recruitment and evaluation practices in India, we summarise

The evaluation of performance in scientific research at any level the merits of peer review and quantitative indicators and the
– whether at the individual, institutional, research council or evaluation practices followed elsewhere.
country level – is not easy. Traditionally, research evaluation at the This paper looks critically at two issues that characterise
individual and institutional levels has depended largely on peer Indian science, viz (i) the misuse of metrics, particularly impact
opinion, but with the rapid growth of science over the last century factor (IF) and h-index, in assessing individual researchers and
and the availability of databases and scientometric techniques, institutions, and (ii) poor research evaluation practices. As the
quantitative indicators have gained importance. Both peer review past performance of individual researchers and the funds
and metrics are subject to flaws, more so in India because of the they seek and obtain for subsequent projects are inextricably
way they are used. Government agencies, funding bodies and intertwined, such misuse of metrics is prevalent in project
academic and research institutions in India suffer from the impact selection and funding as well.
factor and h-index syndrome. The uninformed use of indicators
such as average and cumulative impact factors and the arbitrary This study is based on facts gathered from publicly available
criteria stipulated by agencies such as the University Grants sources such as the websites of organisations and the
Commission, Indian Council of Medical Research and the Medical literature. After explaining the meaning of impact factor and
Council of India for selection and promotion of faculty have h-index and how not to use them, we give many examples
made it difficult to distinguish good science from the bad and the of misuse in reports by Indian funding and regulatory
indifferent. The exaggerated importance given by these agencies agencies. In the next two sections we give examples of
to the number of publications, irrespective of what they report, the arbitrariness of the criteria and indicators used by the
has led to an ethical crisis in scholarly communication and the agencies for the selection and promotion of faculty, selection
reward system in science. These agencies seem to be unconcerned of research fellows, and funding. We follow this up with the
about the proliferation of predatory journals and conferences. evaluation practices in use elsewhere. If we have cited only a
After giving examples of the bizarre use of indicators and arbitrary few examples relating to medicine, it is for two reasons: one,
medicine forms only a small part of the Indian academic and
Authors: Muthu Madhan ([Link]@[Link]),DST Centre for research enterprise; and two, what applies to research and
Policy Research, Indian Institute of Science, Bengaluru 560012, Karnataka,
INDIA; Subbiah Gunasekaran (guna1970@[Link]), CSIR-Central
higher education in other areas applies to medicine as well.
Electrochemical Research Institute, Karaikudi 630003, Tamil Nadu INDIA;
Subbiah Arunachalam (corresponding author ---[Link]@ Misuse of metrics
[Link]), DST Centre for Policy Research, Indian Institute of Science,
Bengaluru 560012, Karnataka, INDIA, and Centre for Internet and Society, The regulatory and funding agencies give too much
Bengaluru 560071, Karnataka, INDIA. importance to the number of papers published and use
To cite: Madhan M, Gunasekaran S, Arunachalam S. Evaluation of research in indicators such as average IF, cumulative IF and IF aggregate
India: Are we doing it right? Indian J Med Ethics. 2018 Jul-Sep;3(3) NS:221-9.
DOI: 10.20529/IJME.2018.024 in the selection of researchers for awards, the selection and
Published online on March 23, 2018.
promotion of faculty, awarding fellowships to students and
grants to departments and institutions, and thus contribute
Manuscript Editor: Sanjay A Pai
to the lowering of standards of academic evaluation, scholarly
© Indian Journal of Medical Ethics 2018
communication, and the country’s research enterprise.

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