Cabinet approves ordinance for death penalty to child rapists

The Union Cabinet approved an ordinance to allow courts to award death penalty to those convicted of raping children up to 12 years of age. Headed by prime minister Narendra Modi, major changes were proposed changes in the Criminal Law Ordinance, 2018, on April 21. These included stringent punishment for perpetrators of rape, particularly of girls below 16 and 12 years. The Cabinet move came after widespread protests across India over cases of sexual assault and murder of minors, especially in Kathua and Surat and the rape of a girl in Unnao.