the Criminal Law (Amendment) Bill-2013

the Criminal Law (Amendment) Bill-2013

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 like acid attacks, stalking and voyeurism.

Mukherjee accorded his assent to the Criminal Law (Amendment) Bill-2013 on  02 April 2013, brought against the backdrop of the country-wide outrage over Delhi gangrape, and it will now be called the Criminal Law (Amendment) Act, 2013, an official release said today.

The law, passed by Lok Sabha on March 19 and by Rajya Sabha on March 21, has replaced an Ordinance promulgated on February 3.

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 offences if repeated for a second time. Perpetrators of acid attack will attract a 10-year jail.

It also defines acid attack as a crime besides granting a victim the right to self-defence. It also has provisions for imposing a minimum 10-year jail term for perpetrators of such acts.

The law has fixed age for consensual sex at 18 years. New sections to prevent stalking and voyeurism were introduced following a strong demand from women's organisations.

 The amendments seek to define and prescribe punishment for the offences of stalking, voyeurism and sexual harassment.

The law also seeks to widen the definition of rape, broaden the ambit of aggravated rape and enhance the punishment for such crimes. — PTI