U'khand HC for death penalty for rape of minors

The Uttarakhand High Court has suggested to the state government to bring in a law providing for death penalty for rape of minors. The law must act as a strong deterrent against such crimes, the court observed.

A division bench of justices Rajiv Sharma and Alok Singh on Friday made the observation while upholding the death sentence of a man convicted by a lower court last year for rape and killing of an eight-year-old in June 2016.

Citing the steady rise in crimes against children, the bench said that it is the state government which can bring an appropriate legislation to impose death penalties on convicts, who are found guilty of raping minors aged 15 or below.

The high court underlined the need for a strong deterrent in the wake of a number of cases where the victims aged 15 years and below are raped and murdered.

It quoted a recent report of the National Crime Records Bureau titled 'Crime Against Children (States & UTs)', which said 676 such cases were registered in the state in 2016, compared to 635 in 2015 and 489 in 2014.