Srinagar: The Union cabinet has cleared a proposal to award the death penalty for those convicted of raping children below 12 years, Hindustan Times reported on Saturday.
The government will make the changes to the law through an ordinance as Parliament is not in session.
The HT report said that the move seeking the death penalty for child rapists comes in the backdrop of nationwide outrage over the brutal rape of an eight-year-old girl in Kathua district of Jammu and Kashmir, the alleged rape of a minor in Unnao by a Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) legislator, and rising anger over a spate of such incidents being reported over the past few weeks.
“Because the 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,” said a senior official in the ministry of Women and Child Development (WCD) on Friday, HT report reads.
