Datanomics: Nearly 50% of rape cases in last 50 yrs reported post-Nirbhaya

Between 1971 and 2025, India registered 927,831 rape cases, with 47.2 per cent of them recorded between 2013 and 2025.

A recent case of rape of a minor girl inside a moving bus in Delhi has revived the horrors of the 2012 Nirbhaya case. Reporting of cases of sexual crimes has risen over the past decade. Between 1971 and 2025, India reported 927,805 rape cases, with 47.2 per cent of them recorded between 2013 and 2025. The sudden increase in reported rape cases is largely linked to the Criminal Law (Amendment) Act, 2013 and subsequent changes in the Indian Penal Code (now replaced by Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita). 

 

Meanwhile, the pendency of rape cases in courts rose from 83 per cent in 2013 to 89 per cent in 2024, while the conviction rate fell from 27 per cent to 23 per cent in the same period. The number of POCSO Act cases rose, with over 95 per cent of victims being minor girls and the rest being minor boys.