Rajasthan passes bill providing for death penalty to rapists of girls under 12

The Rajasthan government has passed a bill to award the death penalty to rapists of girls below 12 years of age.

Rajasthan home minister GC Kataria said the government had made two amendments in the case -- adding life sentence and life imprisonment for convicts in offences against girls below 12 years of age and making a provision that a convict can't leave prison for life even after completing 14 years in jail.

Accordingly, sections 376-AA and 376-DD were added in the Indian Penal Code, 1860.

They provide, that whoever commits rape/gang-rape on a girl upto twelve years of age shall be punishable with death or a rigorous imprisonment which shall not be less than fourteen years and 20 years respectively for the sections and which may extend to imprisonment for life, which means imprisonment for the remainder of the offender's whole life, and with fine.

"We have made two amendments in the case. Added life sentence and life imprisonment for convicts in offences against girls below 12 years of age, also made a provision that convict can't leave the prison for life even after completing 14 years of sentence," GC Kataria said.

The cases of crimes against children have shown a steady rise in Rajasthan, states the National Crime Record Bureau (NCRB) 2016 report.

The state recorded 4,034 such cases in 2016, which is 3.8 per cent of the crimes against children (98,344) registered across the country. It stands fourth in the category of crime against women.

Rajasthan is the second state after Madhya Pradesh to pass the bill.

In December last year, the Madhya Pradesh assembly unanimously passed a bill to award death sentence to rapists of girls below the age of 12 years. 

(With inputs from PTI)