Union Cabinet approves ordinance to award death penalty to child rapists

New Delhi: The Union Cabinet on Saturday approved the ordinance on death penalty for those convicted of sexually abusing children up to 12 years of age.  The meeting was convened following a nationwide uproar over the rape of two minors in Kathua and Unnao. The decision came a day after the Ministry of Women and Child Development told the Supreme Court that it was proposing the death penalty for those convicted of raping children. The Ministry had told the apex court that the government was "sensitive to the plight of young children" brutally abused in the most horrific manner, and proposed to amend the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act by introducing the death penalty to the convicts of child rapes. The maximum punishment under the POSCO Act is life imprisonment while the minimum sentence is seven years in jail. The amendment in the ACT will now invite capital punishment for the guilty. Reports say it was decided in the meeting that fast-track courts will also be set up to speed up the trials. The Union Cabinet meeting was held for approximately two and a half hours at PM Narendra Modis's residence at 7, Lok Kalyan Marg. (With inputs from news agency IANS)