Death penalty for rape of girls below 12 years of age

Rajasthan Assembly on March 9, 2018 passed The Criminal Laws (Rajasthan Amendment) Bill, 2018 awarding death penalty to convicts involved in the rape of girls below 12 years of age.The Bill was introduced by Rajasthan Home Minister Gulab Chand Kataria and was passed in the House by a voice vote following a debate.

Provisions of The Criminal Laws (Rajasthan Amendment) Bill, 2018

• The new amendment adds sections 376-AA and 376-DD to the Indian Penal Code, 1860.
•  The amendment says that a person who is convicted of raping or gang-raping a girl up to twelve years of age will be given a death sentence or rigorous imprisonment, which shall not be less than fourteen years.
• It will award life sentence and life imprisonment to child rapists and will ensure that the convict does not get out of the jail even after completing 14 years of sentence.
• With the passage of The Criminal Laws (Rajasthan Amendment) Bill, 2018, Rajasthan became the second state after Madhya Pradesh to award death penalty to child rapists.
• Earlier in 2017, Madhya Pradesh Assembly had unanimously passed 'The Penal Law (Madhya Pradesh Amendment) Bill-2017' awarding death to those found guilty of raping girls aged 12 and below. Madhya Pradesh was the first State to punish those convicted of such rapes.

Crime against children in Rajasthan

• As per the National Crime Record Bureau (NCRB) 2016 report, cases of crime against children have become rampant in Rajasthan in the recent past.
• The state recorded 4034 such criminal cases in 2016, which is 3.8 per cent of the crimes against children (98344) registered across the country. In 2015, Rajasthan had registered 3689 cases of crime against children.

By: SONAM SHEORAN