NEW DELHI: The ordinance enforcing the dying penalty for raping a kid used to be within the pipeline for lengthy and used to be now not brought because of the nationwide outrage over the rape and homicide of a minor in Kathua in Jammu and Kashmir, a top respectable within the Women and Child Development (WCD) ministry has stated.
"It was a criminal law amendment bill piloted by the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA). And we (WCD ministry) extended our full support to it. The introduction of the new amendment has nothing to do with the Kathua rape incident," WCD Secretary Rakesh Srivastava advised IANS.
"Our minister (Maneka Gandhi) had pitched about it earlier much before the ordinance came into action. We had already moved the suggestion to the law ministry and it was announced on due time," Srivastava added.
The ordinance, which amended the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences Act (Posco), brought down the age of the sufferers from 18 to 12 years. The National Commission for Protection of Child Rights (NCPCR), a statutory frame under the WCD ministry, has been mandated to observe Pocso.
However, the government's transfer has now not been welcomed by attorneys, NGO employees and human rights activists. According to them, the present act used to be strong enough and the new legislation can have a detrimental have an effect on on the minds of both the sufferer and the accused.
"Different viewpoints have emerged when the new amendment came into limelight but we haven't examined all the opinions. I agree we didn't consult with the NGOs or human rights activists before enforcing the act which we should have done, but we always go through all the ideas which are suggested to us," he identified.
Asked whether the dying penalty is without equal strategy to curb rape circumstances and scale back incidents of sexual harassment, the secretary insisted that the new act will serve as a deterrent both for criminals and the judiciary with a time-frame now being laid down for trying circumstances under the act.
"The stringent act will force the criminals to think before committing the heinous crime; there will be a fear of facing the death penalty. This will reduce the rate of crimes against children in the country," he maintained.
Recently a court docket in Madhya Pradesh sentenced to dying a man discovered accountable of raping a minor. Pointing to this, the Secretary stated that the district courts have started to behave briefly on such circumstances and they're eager about the issue.
However, currently over 112,000 circumstances under the Pocso are pending earlier than more than a few district courts and High Courts. As in step with the NCRB data, the pendency price of Pocso act circumstances used to be 89 in step with cent while conviction price used to be handiest 29.6 in step with cent.
According to activists and attorneys, lack of professionals for Pocso circumstances at the district stage regularly results in delays in court cases.
When asked whether the ministry is operating on bringing a handy guide a rough strategy to the large collection of pending circumstances, Srivastava stated that the WCD may be pitching for speedy monitor courts so that daily hearings can be performed.
"Also the time limit for hearing a case has been decided at two months," he famous.
The secretary additionally added that the ministry is similarly involved in regards to the sexual abuse that boys below the age of 12 face and are subsequently operating towards bringing any other amendment within the Pocso.
"It (Pocso) has always been gender neutral. Sexual harassment during childhood is faced equally by boys and girls. Under Section 5 of the Pocso act, Criminal Law Act 2013 will undergo the change and it will be introduced by WCD only," he mentioned.
"It was a criminal law amendment bill piloted by the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA). And we (WCD ministry) extended our full support to it. The introduction of the new amendment has nothing to do with the Kathua rape incident," WCD Secretary Rakesh Srivastava advised IANS.
"Our minister (Maneka Gandhi) had pitched about it earlier much before the ordinance came into action. We had already moved the suggestion to the law ministry and it was announced on due time," Srivastava added.
The ordinance, which amended the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences Act (Posco), brought down the age of the sufferers from 18 to 12 years. The National Commission for Protection of Child Rights (NCPCR), a statutory frame under the WCD ministry, has been mandated to observe Pocso.
However, the government's transfer has now not been welcomed by attorneys, NGO employees and human rights activists. According to them, the present act used to be strong enough and the new legislation can have a detrimental have an effect on on the minds of both the sufferer and the accused.
"Different viewpoints have emerged when the new amendment came into limelight but we haven't examined all the opinions. I agree we didn't consult with the NGOs or human rights activists before enforcing the act which we should have done, but we always go through all the ideas which are suggested to us," he identified.
Asked whether the dying penalty is without equal strategy to curb rape circumstances and scale back incidents of sexual harassment, the secretary insisted that the new act will serve as a deterrent both for criminals and the judiciary with a time-frame now being laid down for trying circumstances under the act.
"The stringent act will force the criminals to think before committing the heinous crime; there will be a fear of facing the death penalty. This will reduce the rate of crimes against children in the country," he maintained.
Recently a court docket in Madhya Pradesh sentenced to dying a man discovered accountable of raping a minor. Pointing to this, the Secretary stated that the district courts have started to behave briefly on such circumstances and they're eager about the issue.
However, currently over 112,000 circumstances under the Pocso are pending earlier than more than a few district courts and High Courts. As in step with the NCRB data, the pendency price of Pocso act circumstances used to be 89 in step with cent while conviction price used to be handiest 29.6 in step with cent.
According to activists and attorneys, lack of professionals for Pocso circumstances at the district stage regularly results in delays in court cases.
When asked whether the ministry is operating on bringing a handy guide a rough strategy to the large collection of pending circumstances, Srivastava stated that the WCD may be pitching for speedy monitor courts so that daily hearings can be performed.
"Also the time limit for hearing a case has been decided at two months," he famous.
The secretary additionally added that the ministry is similarly involved in regards to the sexual abuse that boys below the age of 12 face and are subsequently operating towards bringing any other amendment within the Pocso.
"It (Pocso) has always been gender neutral. Sexual harassment during childhood is faced equally by boys and girls. Under Section 5 of the Pocso act, Criminal Law Act 2013 will undergo the change and it will be introduced by WCD only," he mentioned.
'Death penalty ordinance for raping a child not linked to Kathua'
!['Death penalty ordinance for raping a child not linked to Kathua']()
Reviewed by Kailash
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May 31, 2018
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