Government makes anti-rape laws stricter
2 Feb 2013 7:51 AM IST
In backdrop of the Delhi gang-rape incident, the government has recommended death sentence in extreme cases of sexual assault in an ordinance approved by the union cabinet on Friday. The ordinance precedes amendment of existing laws to make it tougher for sexual offenders. Despite demands to include the death penalty for convicted rapists, Justice JS Verma Commission did not recommend capital punishment in its report, saying that even women’s groups that had been fighting on the issue for years, were against it.
Sources said while it has included the death sentence or a jail term spanning convict’s lifetime in ‘extreme cases’, the government has omitted a recommendation made by the Justice JS Verma Commission for making marital rape a case of sexual assault. The union cabinet held a special meeting on Friday evening to discuss Justice Verma Committee report which has recommended a series of measures to make crime against women laws stronger.
In the proposed ordinance, the word ‘rape’ has been replaced by the term ‘sexual assault’ and acid attacks, use of criminal force and stalking have been included under that.
The three-member committee, headed by former Chief Justice of India JS Verma, was set up in the wake of rape and brutal assault of a 23-year-old girl in Delhi on December 16 and it submitted a voluminous 630-page report on 23 January.
The government will now recommend to President Pranab Mukherjee to promulgate the ordinance with immediate effect.
Sources said while it has included the death sentence or a jail term spanning convict’s lifetime in ‘extreme cases’, the government has omitted a recommendation made by the Justice JS Verma Commission for making marital rape a case of sexual assault. The union cabinet held a special meeting on Friday evening to discuss Justice Verma Committee report which has recommended a series of measures to make crime against women laws stronger.
In the proposed ordinance, the word ‘rape’ has been replaced by the term ‘sexual assault’ and acid attacks, use of criminal force and stalking have been included under that.
The three-member committee, headed by former Chief Justice of India JS Verma, was set up in the wake of rape and brutal assault of a 23-year-old girl in Delhi on December 16 and it submitted a voluminous 630-page report on 23 January.
The government will now recommend to President Pranab Mukherjee to promulgate the ordinance with immediate effect.
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