The Haryana government has nodded to the proposal of giving death penalty for those raping girls of 12 years of age or less. According to Chief Minister, Manohar Lal Khattar, people who are accused of raping minors, must be punished severely. He had earlier showed his concern about the increase in the incidents of rape over the past few years.
Chief Minister Manmohan Lal Khattar had headed the meeting of the Cabinet where it was decided that existent criminal law must be made harsher.
Rape Penalty for Minors
The Cabinet decided to made amendments on legal provisions like 376A (Intercourse by a man with his wife during separation), 376D (rape by one or more persons constituting a group), 354 (Assault or criminal force against woman with intent to outrage her modesty) and 354D (2) (stalking) of Indian Penal Code (IPC).
It was proposed by the Cabinet that in case of gang rape of 12 years or less, the accused will either be given death penalty or an imprisonment as long as 14 years. This imprisonment penalty may be extended to a lifelong imprisonment, till the period of person’s natural death.
Nod to Death Penalty
Another amendment of 376D stated that any person or group found guilty of raping a minor (12 years or less) will have to face death or imprisonment as long as 20 years, which may even extend to lifetime with the fine.
According to the release, “Such a fine shall be just and reasonable to meet the medical expenses and rehabilitation of the victim. Any fine imposed under this section will be paid to the victim.”
As per the released proposal, the punishment regarding section 354 of IPC will not be less than 2 years or can even extend up to seven years with fine.
According to statement, anyone accused of stalking will be punished on first conviction with an imprisonment of at least three years. However, in case of second conviction, the punishment will be extended to a term of seven years but would not be less than 3 years.