The government is planning to introduce an amendment bill to provide for stringent punishment, including the death penalty, for those convicted of raping girls below the age of 12 years in the upcoming Monsoon Session of Parliament.
The Criminal Law (Amendment) Bill, 2018, seeks to replace the Criminal Law (Amendment) Ordinance, which was promulgated on April 21 after an outcry over the rape and murder of a minor girl in Kathua in Jammu and Kashmir and the rape of another woman in Unnao in Uttar Pradesh.
Official sources said the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) has prepared a note and will be moving the bill for Cabinet approval.
Sources said the bill envisages stringent punishment for the rape of a girl under 12 years — minimum 20 years' imprisonment and maximum imprisonment of either a life term or death.
In cases of gang-rape of a girl below 12 years, according to the proposal, punishment will be imprisonment for the rest of life or death sentence.
The minimum punishment in case of rape of women has been increased from rigorous imprisonment of seven years to 10 years, extendable to life imprisonment.
In case of rape of a girl under 16 years, minimum punishment has been increased from 10 years to 20 years, extendable to imprisonment for rest of the natural life of the convict.
The punishment for the gang-rape of a girl below 16 years will invariably be imprisonment for the rest of life of the convict.