Govt proposes to lower age for consensual sex to 16 yrs

The Union Cabinet will take up on Thursday the Home Ministry’s draft anti-rape Bill that seeks to lower the age of consensual sex to 16 years from the existing 18 years, to replace the ordinance.

 After the Cabinet passes the draft Bill advocating tough legal measures to check crimes against women, it would be tabled before Parliament for passage as Prime Minister Manmohan SIngh had committed before the Budget Session. 

Other than the ordinance, the draft note also contains recommendations of the standing committee on Home which too was deliberating on the Bill. Now the ordinance and the criminal amendment Bill revised by the parliamentary committee have been put together in one comprehensive piece of legislation.

 A senior Home Ministry official confirmed that the Cabinet is slated to take up the draft for approval. The draft Bill has agreed to the recommendation of the Justice Verma committee to retain word “rape” instead of “sexual assault” in the definition, but has set aside the recommendation on making marital rape an offence and take action against armed forces personnel, who enjoys protection under the AFSPA.

The standing committee, in its report tabled in the Rajya Sabha , suggested death penalty in rare cases of rape and for repeat offenders, but had agreed with the ministry’s view of not calling marital rape a crime in its recommendations. The committee felt that criminalising marital rape would weaken traditional family values in India.