76% Indians Want Death Penalty For Rapists, Want States To Award Capital Punishment, Finds Poll

A recent citizen survey concluded that 76 per cent Indians want death penalty for rapists. Just yesterday, President Ram Nath Kovind gave his nod to an ordinance that approved death penalty for rapists of children below 12 years of age.

Official sources told PTI that the criminal law amendment ordinance 每 cleared by the Union cabinet on Saturday in an ※emergency§ meeting 每 seeked to amend the Indian Penal Code, the Evidence Act, the Code of Criminal Procedure and the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences Act to introduce a new provision to sentence those convicted of such crimes of death.

According to the survey conducted by LocalCircles, 18 per cent voted for life imprisonment without parole for convicted rapists while three per cent said it should be a seven-year jail term (which is the current law).

AP

LocalCircles conducted six nation-wide polls which received more than 40,000 votes over their views on the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act.

In the second poll, 89 per cent agreed that they want their states to pass a law that awards death penalty within six months.

Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan, Haryana and Arunachal Pradesh have passed a law that awards death penalty for child rape.

※In another poll, which was about engaging more women officers to register cases of sexual assault, it was found that 78 per cent citizens were in support of every district level police station to have at least one woman officer§, says IANS report.

Reuters

For the fourth poll, on the maximum time taken by the police to file a charge sheet in cases of child rape, only 28 per cent said it should be done within 30 days, while 25 per cent said 45 days.

In the fifth poll, it was found that 65 per cent want POCSO judges to only handle cases which are related to child sexual abuse.

85 per cent people said that the maximum time taken for justice in cases of child rape under POSCO should be 6 months.