Lok Sabha on Tuesday passed a Bill
which provides for natural life term or even death for repeat offenders
of rape and other stringent punishment for various offences like
stalking, voyeurism and acid attacks.
The Criminal Law
(Amendment) Bill-2013, brought against the backdrop of the country-wide
outrage over Delhi gang rape, also makes it clear that the age of
consent for sex would be 18 years, which was a sticking point with
political parties.
"I wish to state that we are enacting the
strict law to act as a deterrent," home minister Sushilkumar Shinde
said, replying to a nearly six-hour debate on the Bill.
The Bill seeks to replace an Ordinance promulgated on February 3, which will expire on April 4.
It
seeks to amend the Indian Penal Code, the Code of Criminal Procedure,
the Indian Evidence Act and the Protection of Children from Sexual
Offences Act.
The Bill was passed after all amendments moved by
opposition and one by UPA constituent NCP for a life-term for
perpetrators of acid attacks were defeated.
"Time has come to
send out a loud, clear and deterrent signal that the society will not
tolerate such errant behaviour," he said, underlining that the Bill was
being brought to plug loopholes in the law.
With an aim of
providing a strong deterrent against rapes and gang rapes, the Bill
states that an offender can be sentenced to rigourous imprisonment for a
term which shall not be less than 20 years, but which may extend to
life, meaning imprisonment for the remainder of that person’s natural
life and with a fine.
It has provisions for handing out death
sentence to offenders who may have been convicted earlier for such
crimes. The Bill, 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 term.