
New Delhi: The shock over gruesome rape and brutality of a five-year-old girl on Monday resonated in the Rajya Sabha with members cutting across party lines pressing for stern action, including death penalty, to deal with such crimes even if it needs a relook at the new anti-rape law. The House took up an impromptu discussion on the issue during which members also suggested an all-party meeting to find ways of tackling such crimes more effectively.
Initiating the debate, BJP leader Maya Singh referring to the latest rape incident in East Delhi and said the accused should be given "immediate death penalty" without going through a lengthy court trial. "It is proved that the person has done it (crime). Still, a case will be registered and tried in court. It is a lengthy process. We should immediately award him death penalty. Such people should be hanged," she sought.
She said the new anti-rape bill should be relooked, if required, to make it further stringent. That apart, she demanded an all-party meeting should be convened soon to discuss this issue. The anti-rape bill was passed in Parliament in March against the backdrop of the countrywide outrage over Delhi gang-rape. It aims to provide for life term and even death sentence for rape convicts besides stringent punishment for offences like acid attacks, stalking and voyeurism.
Blaming the Delhi Police for failing to tackle such crimes in the city, Singh said that enacting laws in Parliament alone is not sufficient,

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07:13 PM, Apr 22, 2013

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06:43 PM, Apr 22, 2013

A 5-year-old was abducted, kept locked up for days and systematically brutalised in New Delhi. The police initially refused to register an FIR and even slapped women protesting against this horrific incident. ...

10:48 PM, Apr 19, 2013

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12:58 PM, Apr 03, 2013

Actress Nandita Das joined IBNLive readers for an interaction on the need for stronger anti-rape laws. ...

05:31 PM, Mar 26, 2013

Home Minister Sushil Kumar Shinde today termed as "new" and "progressive" the Criminal Law Amendment Bill which was passed in the Lok Sabha despite several amendments being moved by members and emphasised that it will empower women. "The whole country was watching this Bill. I am happy that this Bill, which Congress President Sonia Gandhi and Prime Minister Manmohan Singh wanted to get passed, has been passed by the Lok...

10:45 PM, Mar 19, 2013

The Bharatiya Janata Party on Friday said it favours a strong anti-rape law but has certain reservations on some of the clauses in the Bill cleared by the Cabinet and will voice them in the all-party meeting here on March 18. "BJP agrees with most issues stated in the Bill and would like it to be passed. But some sections in the party have reservations on decreasing the age of...

09:36 AM, Mar 16, 2013

Yoga guru Baba Ramdev on Thursday said the Centre's decision to reduce the age for consensual sex from 18 to 16 years would affect the social order and increase rape cases in the country. ...

12:26 AM, Mar 15, 2013

The final draft of the anti-rape Bill was cleared by the Union Cabinet on Thursday evening. "Anti-rape Bill has been cleared. All recommendations of the GoM accepted," said Law Minister Ashwini Kumar. ...

06:43 PM, Mar 14, 2013

Residents of Chennai say reducing age of consent may create problems. They are also demanding harsher punishments for rapists in the anti-rape Bill. ...

03:53 PM, Mar 14, 2013

There is headway in the anti-rape Bill draft, which is all set to be cleared by the Cabinet after much debate within the ministries. The Cabinet will take it up on Thursday evening. ...

03:47 PM, Mar 14, 2013

Human rights lawyer Vrinda Grover joined IBNLive readers for an interaction on new anti-rape Bill & whether it is right to lower the age of sexual consent from 18 to 16 years. ...

07:22 PM, Mar 13, 2013

After the meeting of the groups of ministers over the anti-rape Bill, Union Finance Minister P Chidambaram said the GoM would meet again on Wednesday and the Bill would reach the Cabinet on Thursday. ...

11:03 PM, Mar 12, 2013

With the Cabinet divided over the government's proposed anti-rape Bill, Karan Thapar on his show 'The Last Word' asked if the confusion and indecisiveness has damaged the government's sincerity and resolve. ...

10:19 PM, Mar 12, 2013

The Cabinet once again failed to approve the draft of the proposed anti-rape Bill on Tuesday. There are differences in the Cabinet over provisions like reducing the age of consent from 18 to 16 years. A group of ministers will not consider the draft and look into the points of differences and come back to the Cabinet by Wednesday. ...

08:30 PM, Mar 12, 2013

Union Law Minister Ashwani Kumar told CNN-IBN that the anti-rape law needs careful deliberation before it is passed. ...

02:06 PM, Mar 12, 2013

Union Law Minister Ashwani Kumar said one of the reasons for not making marital rape an offence under the latest ordinance was that marriage is not deemed to be a contract in India, unlike in other countries. ...

09:00 PM, Mar 10, 2013

Law Minister Ashwani Kumar has dismissed reports of alleged differences between the Home Ministry and the Law Ministry over the proposed new anti-rape bill. ...

08:34 AM, Mar 10, 2013

While political leaders have been endorsing tough laws to deal with crimes against women, there is hardly action on the ground to show that women are any safer. While members of the government assured that tough anti-rape laws will be brought into effect soon, Parliamentarians called for unity to fight crimes against women during a debate on the occasion of Women's Day on Friday. ...

03:59 PM, Mar 08, 2013