June 2013 News 5 NEW, HARSHER ANTI-RAPE LAW COMES INTO FORCE

NEW, HARSHER ANTI-RAPE LAW COMES INTO FORCE

President Pranab Mukherjee has given his assent to the anti-rape Bill, which provides for life term and even death sentence for rape convicts, besides stringent punishment  for offences such as acid attacks, stalking and voyeurism.
Mukherjee accorded his assent to the Criminal Law (Amendment) Bill 2013 on April 3, brought against the backdrop of the countrywide outrage over the Delhi gangrape, and now it will be
called the Criminal Law (Amendment) Act, 2013. The law passed by the Lok Sabha on March 19 and by Rajya Sabha on March 21, has replaced on Ordinance promulgated on February 3. It amends various sections of the Indian Penal Code, the Code of Criminal Procedure, the Indian Evidence Act and the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences Act.

DETAILS:

• The new law states that rapists can be sentenced to 20 years jail term but it may also extend to life term with a fine.
• It has provisions for handing out death sentence to offenders who may have been convicted earlier for such crimes.
• The   law,  for   the   first time, defines stalking and voyeurism as non-bailable offenses if repeated for a second time.
• Acid attacks will attract a 10-year jail term. It also defines
acid attack as a crime besides granting a victim the right
to self-defense.
• The law has fixed age for consensual sex at 18 years.