Death Penalty For Rapists: Have You Done Any Research Before Coming Out With Ordinance, Delhi High Court Rebukes Centre

The plea by academician Madhu Purnima Kishwar has claimed that the amendments to the law related to sexual offences are being abused in practice.

Written by: India.com News Desk

Updated: April 23, 2018, 10:23 PM IST

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New Delhi, April 23: The Delhi High Court on Monday rebuked the Centre and asked if it had done any research or scientific assessment before coming out with the Ordinance to award death penalty for rape of girls below the age of 12. A bench of acting Chief Justice Gita Mittal and Justice C Hari Shankar asked the government,”Did you carry out any study, any scientific assessment that death penalty is a deterrent to rape? Have you thought of the consequences to the victim? How many offenders would allow their victims to survive now that rape and murder have the same punishment.”

The high court was hearing an old PIL that challenged the Criminal Law (Amendment) Act of 2013, in which a penal provision — minimum of seven years of jail term — for a rape convict was included and the court’s discretion to award less than that was taken away. The plea by academician Madhu Purnima Kishwar has claimed that the amendments to the law related to sexual offences are being abused in practice.

Furthermore, the court stated that the government was “not even looking at the root cause” or “educating people” as the offenders are often found to be below the age of 18 years and in majority of the cases, the perpetrator is someone from the family or known to them.  It also questioned whether any victims were asked what they want before coming out with the Ordinance.

Earlier on Saturday, the Union Cabinet, at a meeting chaired by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, approved an ordinance on the death penalty of those convicted of raping children below the age of 12 years. The Cabinet had also decided to put in place measures for speedy investigation and trial of rape cases.

In case of rape of a girl under 16 years, the Union Cabinet had increased minimum punishment from 10 years to 20 years, extendable to life imprisonment while, in case of rape of a girl under 12 years of age, the minimum punishment of 20 years imprisonment or life imprisonment has been provided in the Ordinance.

Meanwhile, minimum punishment in case of rape of women has been increased from rigorous imprisonment of 7 years to 10 years, extendable to life imprisonment whereas, in case of gangrape of a girl below 12 years, punishment will be life imprisonment or death sentence.