Bill providing for stringent punishment in rape cases in Lok Sabha

The Criminal Law Bill, 2018, which provides for stringent punishment including death penalty for those convicted of raping girls below the age of 12 years, was introduced on Monday in the Lok Sabha. Therefore, the offences of rape and gangrape of women under the age of 16 years and 12 years required effective deterrence through legal provisions of more stringent punishment, he said. According to the bill, in case of rape of a girl under 16 years, the minimum punishment has been increased from 10 years to 20 years, extendable to imprisonment for rest of life, which means jail term till the convicts' "natural life". Stringent punishment for rape of a girl under 12 years has been provided with the minimum jail term being 20 years which may go up to life in prison or death sentence.