Death Penalty for Child Rapists: President Kovind Signs Ordinance

The move comes against the backdrop of the alleged rape and murder of girls in Kathua and Surat recently.

Image used for representational purposes.

(Photo: Ankita Das/The Quint)

President Ram Nath Kovind on Sunday, 22 April, promulgated the criminal law amendment ordinance, paving the way for providing stringent punishment, including death penalty, for those convicted of raping girls below the age of 12 years.

The President's nod to the ordinance comes after the Union Cabinet's approval for tightening the law against people involved in raping minors, following public outcry over cases of sexual assault and murder of minors in Kathua and Surat and the rape of a girl in Unnao.

The Union Cabinet had on Saturday, 21 April, approved the ordinance to allow courts to award death penalty to those convicted of raping children up to the age of 12.

Official sources in New Delhi said that the criminal law amendment ordinance seeks to amend the Indian Penal Code (IPC), the Evidence Act, the Code of Criminal Procedure (CrPC), and the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act to introduce a new provision to sentence convicts of such crimes the punishment of death.

The move comes against the backdrop of the alleged rape and murder of girls in Jammu and Kashmir’s Kathua and Gujarat’s Surat district recently.

The rape of a minor in Uttar Pradesh's Unnao district had also outraged the nation.

A senior official in the ministry of Women and Child Development earlier told Hindustan Times, “Since Parliament is not in session and considering the urgency of the situation, we have decided to bring an ordinance to implement the changes in the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act, 2012.”

Presently under the POCSO Act, the maximum punishment for aggravated assault on minors is life in jail. The minimum sentence is seven years in jail.

The ordinance also enhances the minimum sentence for rape from seven years to 10 years in jail, which could also be extended to life imprisonment.

State governments, too, have been working to enforce death penalty for child rapists. Recently, the Vasundhara Raje-led Rajasthan government approved a bill seeking death penalty for those convicted of raping children aged 12 or less. Madhya Pradesh and Haryana too have filed similar proposals.

Huge step taken for safety of our daughters. I thank Prime Minister Narendra Modi and the Union Cabinet. Madhya Pradesh had also taken a step towards this. This will instil fear among criminals and they’ll think before committing such heinous crimes.

Shivraj Singh Chouhan, Madhya Pradesh chief minister, to ANI

Apart from amendments related to the POCSO Act, the government is also likely to discuss ordinances to initiate confiscation of properties of economic offenders who have fled the country to avoid facing criminal prosecution. This comes after jeweller Nirav Modi fled the country recently after defrauding the Punjab National Bank of Rs 14,000 crore, just months after businessman Vijay Mallya pulled off the same act.

The bill is likely to be taken up is the Fugitive Economic Offenders Bill, 2018, which is still pending in Parliament.

Properties of those who have an outstanding amount of Rs 100 crore or more and have left the country, will be attached under this law.

Swati Maliwal to End Fast on Sunday

Delhi Commission for Women (DCW) chairperson Swati Maliwal announced she will end her fast on Sunday, 22 April, after the ordinance was approved.

Maliwal was on the ninth day of her fast at Rajghat in New Delhi.

The prime minister listened to our demands and the demands of the country. So, I have decided to end my fast at 2 pm tomorrow.

Swati Maliwal, DCW chief

Earlier on Saturday, Maliwal had tweeted she won't end her fast until "something concrete happens" to ensure safety of the girl child.

In a letter to Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Maliwal had mentioned her six demands, which included the passage of the ordinance, recruitment of police personnel as per the United Nations standards, and fixing accountability of the police force.

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