After a series of gang-rape incidents across India, president
Pranab Mukherjee has approved the Ordinance on sexual assault, which has the provision
of death penalty for cases of rape that lead to the victim's death or push her
into a persistent vegetative state. The Ordinance sought to treat such case as
a crime belonging to the "rarest-of-rare" category for which courts
can award death punishment if they so decide. For such cases, the ordinance
proposes a minimum sentence of 20 years which can be extended to imprisonment
until the natural life of the convict, or death. The changed law will now treat
voyeurism, stalking, disrobing of women and acid attacks as specific offences
under the Indian Penal Code. The change will raise 'eve-teasing' from being
considered a minor offence to a serious crime attracting enhanced punishment.
Human rights activists in almost all countries plead death for
rapists and most of the countries, like India, have already included capital
punishment in their criminal procedural laws. Of late there had been critical
debate in the western media questioning the death penalty to a rapist in Islam,
calling it cruel and against the human rights. But given the intensity of this
crime, the same human rightists have now come to the similar conclusion that
even one count of capital punishment is not enough. Unfortunately for the last
five years there had been no executions despite courts awarded death. Hundreds
of criminals have not been hanged including those involved in acts of
terrorism. There had been a campaign by the world HR bodies for abolition of
death penalty, in sharp contrast to a rising demand that the Pakistan
Parliament and subsequently the President of Pakistan should approve a law,
emulating the Indian amendment in their penal laws so that the women as well as
their honour and dignity are protected.
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