Ordinance to make rape laws harsher soon

The government will soon promulgate an ordinance to amend the existing criminal laws on crimes against women to make them harsher, and include new offences as suggested by the Justice J S Verma committee.

In a bid to send a message that it meant business, a special meeting of the Union Cabinet on Friday is understood to have decided to make a series of changes in the criminal laws, including provision for punishment up to entire life to a convict in case of rape.

The three-member Verma committee, which was assigned to look into the criminal laws, submitted its report on January 23. The committee was set up following a nationwide uproar over the gang-rape of a 23-year-old woman in Delhi on December 16, 2012. The proposed ordinance, which may be promulgated as early as Saturday, comes 20 days before Parliament meets for the Budget Session on February 21. The ordinance will become a law once the President gives his assent. The ordinance has to be approved by Parliament within six months of being promulgated.

Ringing in changes

It is understood that the Cabinet, during the two-hour meeting, decided to bring in changes to the criminal laws by amending the Indian Penal Code (IPC), Criminal Procedure Code (CrPC) and the Evidence Act. The Cabinet studied the proposals submitted by the Verma panel, the Criminal Law (Amendment) Bill, 2011, now pending in the Lok Sabha, and suggested the changes.

The woman-friendly laws will expand the terminology of rape to “sexual assault,” award of harsher punishment — from seven years to 20 years to natural life of a convict — in cases of rape or gang-rape with grievous hurt, crimes that left the victim in a vegetative state etc.

It made acid attack a separate offence, entailing a minimum punishment of 10 years which may go up to life.

For use of force to outrage a woman’s modesty, the punishment has been enhanced from two to five years. Punishment for indecent gesture has been enhanced from one to three years.

It is learnt that the Cabinet included new offences under criminal law, including disrobing a woman, voyeurism, stalking, trafficking and sexual harassment at workplace.

However, the Cabinet decided against the suggestion to include review of the Armed Forces Special Powers Act. The suggestion included a provision that sexual crimes by members of the armed forces should be tried under the ordinary criminal law.

The Cabinet decisions come shortly after Prime Minister Manmohan Singh wrote to Justice Verma assuring speedy action on his report. “On behalf of our government, I assure you that we will be prompt in pursuing the recommendations of the committee,” he had said.