(New Delhi, Paris) The Indian Parliament should reject a Cabinet ordinance that would introduce the death penalty for cases of rape of girls under the age of 12, FIDH and its member organizations People’s Watch and Commonwealth Human Rights Initiative (CHRI) said today. Parliament is likely to convene later in the summer for its monsoon session.
The ordinance, which was signed by President Ram Nath Kobind on 22 April 2018, would amend the Indian Penal Code, the Evidence Act, the Code of Criminal Procedure, and the Protection of Children from Sexual Offenses (POCSO) Act, and would also extend minimum prison sentences for cases of rape of women. It comes on the heels of two horrific rapes, including the brutal rape and murder of a girl child in Jammu and Kashmir State, which stirred a nationwide outcry.