Prime Minister Narendra Modi is currently chairing a Cabinet meeting during which an ordinance to award death penalty to those convicted of raping a child up to 12 years of age is likely to come up for discussion.
Against the backdrop of outrage over the incidents of rape of minors in Uttar Pradesh’s Unnao and Jammu’s Kathua, the government reportedly plans to bring the ordinance to amend the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences Act (POCSO Act). While the meeting is underway, another rape case, this time of a four-month-old baby in MP’s Indore, has triggered outrage. Sources added that the Union Cabinet is also likely to discuss an ordinance on preventing loan defaulters from leaving the country since the Fugitive Economic Offenders Bill, 2018 could not be taken up in the disruptions-hit Budget Session.
