August 13, 2018
On Saturday, President Ram Nath Kovind gave his assent to the Criminal Law (Amendment) Act, 2018, that provides either death penalty or life imprisonment to people convicted of raping girls below the age of 12 years.
The amendment has also increased the minimum punishment for rape of women from 7 years to 10 years.
On 6th August, Rajya Sabha passed amendment bill, one week after Lower House gave its assent.
Amendment will replace an ordinance promulgated by Government in April this year after outcry over the murder & alleged rape of an 8-year-old girl in Jammu & Kashmir’s Kathua district.
A Notice on Gazzete,“This Act may be called the Criminal Law (Amendment) Act, 2018,” said a notice on The Gazette of India. “It shall be deemed to have come into force on April 2018.”
The legislation increases the minimum punishment for the rape of a girl under 16 years from 10 years to 20 years. The punishment can be extended to a life term. The gang rape of a girl younger than 16 will carry the punishment of life imprisonment. People convicted of raping girls below 12 will face a minimum punishment of 20 years in prison.
The bill does away with the provision for anticipatory bail in such cases and stipulates that investigation & trial in rape cases of minors must be completed within 2 months. Appeals, if any, have to be disposed of in 6 months.
Prior to the amendment, the maximum punishment for sexual assault of minors was life imprisonment & the minimum sentence was 7 years in prison.
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