Amidst the national wide indignation over the gang-rape of eight-year-old girl in Kathua, Jammu and Kashmir, Union cabinet, according to reports, has approved the ordinance of Amendment of POCSO Act, 2012 and promulgated to amend the punishment in the case of rape of minor, below 12 years of age. The present amendment would provide the punishment of death penalty for rapist of girl, below the age of twelve years.
The same amendment further provides stringent punishment for the delinquent of rape of girl below 16 years age and also for below 12 years old. Amendment increased the punishment from 10 years to 20 years, up to life imprisonment in case of rape of a girl below 16 years and provides the punishment of death penalty in case of below 12 years.
“I am directed to refer to mentioned above writ petition and to inform that issues raised in the petition regarding the amendment of provisions of the POCSO Act, 2012 so as to provide maximum punishment of death penalty for commission of offences of rape of children up to 12 years of age group is under active consideration of the Ministry. The ministry is sensitive to the plight of young children brutally abused in the most horrific manner of rape of children up to 12 years of age group is under active consideration of the Ministry. The ministry is sensitive to the plight of young children brutally abused in the most horrific manner of rape of children up to 12 years of age group is under active consideration of the Ministry. The ministry is sensitive to the plight of young children brutally abused in the most horrific manner”
stated by a Deputy Secretary, Government of India handed over the bench headed by Chief Justice Dipak Misra who is hearing a petition filed by Supreme Court advocate Alakh Alok Srivastava demanding death penalty for those raping children.
The PIL has been filed to draw the attention of the court on aggravated sexual assault against the eight-month-old girl in North-West Delhi by her own cousin in January and asked to frame guidelines in order to ensure that the related investigation on such crimes, i.e. trial cases involving the rape of the child below the twelve years under the defined POSCO (Protection of Children from Sexual Offences) Act, must be completed within a legal time-frame, six month according to the guidelines framed under PIL, from the date of lodging the FIR.
In furtherance to that, bench has requested the Chief justices of concerned High courts that to forward the suggestion and opinions and also to give intimation to registry of supreme court, district wise, of the pendency of the cases under the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences Act of 2012, along with the status.
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