Death penalty to those convicted of raping children up to 12 years

New Delhi-An ordinance to allow courts to award death penalty to those convicted of raping children up to 12 years of age has been approved by Union Cabinet.This move comes against the backdrop of the




alleged rape and murder of girls in Jammu and Kashmir’s Kathua and Unnao district.Official sources said that the criminal law amendment ordinance seeks to amend the Indian Penal Code (IPC), the Evidence Act, the Code of Criminal Procedure (CrPC) and the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act to introduce a new provision to sentence convicts of such crimes with punishment of death.