Anti-rape ordinance may include death for convicts in extreme cases

New Delhi: Death penalty or life term for convicts in extreme cases may be included in the ordinance that the Cabinet may issue after its meet at Prime Minister Manmohan Singh's house, sources said. The Cabinet is meeting to discuss Justice Verma Committee report and the changes proposed by it in anti-rape laws.

The Cabinet will also decide on including some of the changes recommended by the committee, which was set up in December 2012, after the brutal gangrape of a 23-year-old paramedic student in Delhi. Sources have told CNN-IBN that stalking, trafficking, and sexual harassment at workplace could be brought under crimes against women.

The Cabinet is also considering increasing punishment for rape to 20 years, sources said. It will also discuss lowering juvenile age in heinous crimes while the word 'rape' could be replaced by 'sexual assault' in the relevant sections of the law, sources said.

The Cabinet, meeting at PM\'s house, is also considering replacing word \'rape\' with \'sexual assault\', sources said.

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