Fri. Mar 29th, 2024

The center recently submitted a report to the supreme court saying it wasn’t in favor of a death penalty in the case of the rape of an 8-month old baby by her cousin. The PIL was filed by lawyer Alok Srivastava calling for the death penalty to be meted out to the 28-year old cousin.

The case

On 28 January, an 8-month old baby was raped by her cousin in North-West Delhi. She was moved to AIIMS in her critical condition. On the order of the court, 2 doctors were assigned to assess her condition. The Delhi Legal Services Authority(DLSA) has filed a report regarding the matter. An interim compensation of rupees 75,000 has also been offered to the family. Luckily the baby has survived the assault.

The case was taken to the Supreme Court. A bench led by the CJI heard the case. While action definitely needs to be taken against the offender, what punishment to give still remains a question. There are various degrees of punishments given under the POCSO Act, depending on the severity of the cases. This particular case is considered to be a “brutal” case of sexual assault.

Death penalty is not an answer to everything“- said Solicitor General, P. S. Narasimha

The Supreme Court is now reviewing the various cases filed under the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences Act. It has ordered a probe into the cases and also review the punishments meted out in the cases. A stricter punishment will probably be discussed in this case.

There is a real necessity for review of all these cases. It’s no secret that in India justice takes its own time. There is also a requirement for special courts designed to deal with the cases. It’s not a simple matter of calling for a death penalty or not. Rehabilitation might even produce results. But, the real need is to make sure these cases don’t occur Whatever happened to prevention being better than cure.

By Sahitya