After Gang Rape And Murder Of Telangana Vet, Govt To Amend Laws To Bypass High Courts On Death Penalties In Rape Cases

Ever since the news about the brutal rape and murder of a 27-year-old veterinary doctor in Telangana surfaced several people have said that rape cases in the country continue to rise because the laws are not adequate to deter people from committing such crimes.

Many also pointed out how four men who were sentenced to death for the 2012 Delhi gang-rape case are still languishing in jail, despite the death sentence, which was awarded in 2014.

They had filed review petitions in both the High Court and Supreme Court against the death sentence but were rejected. They still have the option to file a mercy plea to the president. The apex court had in December last year dismissed a petition, seeking directions for the immediate execution of the four men convicted in the case.

Now, in the wake of the Telangana rape case, the government is set to review the procedure to expedite trial in grave criminal offences such as rape and murder. Union Minister of State for Home G Kishan Reddy said that the Centre is considering a suggestion that the conviction in such cases by trial courts may be challenged only in the Supreme Court.

He said that the Indian Penal Code (IPC) and the Code of Criminal Procedure (CrPC) will be amended for this. "Currently the convicts go for appeals in various upper courts and high courts, resulting in long delays in awarding punishment," Kishan Reddy said. As the cases are anyway going to the apex court, we thought the role of the High Courts can be dispensed with," the minister added.

The Union minister said some suggestions on the amendments to IPC and CrPC were given by the Bureau of Police Research and Development (BPRD) and the government will take suggestions from the people, women¡¯s organizations and also intellectuals.

¡°The Lok Sabha will discuss the amendments that need to be brought in grave offences such as rape and murder by taking suggestions from the members on Monday. There should be a speedy trial of cases of this gravity on the lines of POCSO Act,¡± Kishan Reddy said.

Reddy who hails from Telangana had met the family of the 27-year-old woman who was gang-raped and murdered by four men on Tuesday night. "Home minister Amit Shah is concerned about the delay in rendering justice in cases of atrocities on women," the minister told reporters. He also said that the Centre had asked Telangana to adopt the emergency response number ¡®112¡¯ to help women to alert different police agencies and their family members.