Anti-rape bill to be placed in Parliament Tuesday: Sources - Zee News

Zeenews Bureau New Delhi: An all-party meet took place on Monday to discuss the anti-rape bill and build a consensus so that it could be introduced in Parliament tomorrow. However, the meeting had ended inconclusively, as per sources, with age for consensual sex being one the major the bone of contenion. However, as per sources the government has decided to place the bill in Parliament tomorrow. Also, as per reports the government is not averse to the age of consent being 18. The meeting took place twice. In the first meeting the DMK, TDP, RJD and BJP failed to turn up. The second meet took place at 12:30 pm. After the first meet, the Parliamentary Affairs Minister Kamal Nath said that divergent views had emerged over the age of consent. He added that some parties feared that the bill would be misused and thus they wanted safeguards before the bill was passed. Meanwhile, it has emerged that the Cabinet will once again meet this evening to discuss the anti-rape bill. The SP is opposed to the bill, particularly the clause on lowering the age for consensual sex from 18 to 16 years. "The SP will vote against it in Parliament," party leader Ram Gopal Yadav had said on Friday. And BJP leader Najma Heptulla had said, "If a person below 18 is a juvenile and is given relaxed punishments because he is not mature enough to know the consequences of what he is doing, how is a child of 16 mature enough to consent to sexual activity?" However, the Bahujan Samaj Party has supported the government and has said the controversial provisions of the bill could be discussed in Parliament. "Our party will support the anti-rape bill being brought by the Central government in any form and shape," BSP chief Mayawati had told reporters. Differences had also emerged within the Cabinet over the proposed bill and it had been referred to GoM. The ministers differed on the use of word 'rape' in place of 'sexual assault', lowering of age of consent from 18 to 16 years and the definition of voyeurism and stalking, punishable under the bill. However, the final draft of the anti-rape bill was cleared by the Union Cabinet last week. Group of Ministers headed by Finance Minister P Chidambaram recommended, among other things, lowering of age of consent for sex from 18 to 16 years. A stricter punishment for offences like stalking was included in the bill. Sustained stalking was made non-bailable offence. Offences like voyeurism, inappropriate touch and remarks were also made non-bailable offences. The word 'rape' was retained and been treated as gender-specific, instead of making it gender-neutral. A key provision of the bill is that if the rape of a victim leads to her death or leaves her in a vegetative state, then it can attract death penalty. The minimum punishment is 20 years in jail. The quantum of punishment can be extend upto the natural life of the convict. The need for a stronger bill emerged after the brutal gang-rape of a 23-year old girl in a moving bus in the national capital. The Criminal Law (Amendment) Bill, 2013, will replace the ordinance promulgated by President Pranab Mukherjee Feb 3. It has to be passed by April 4, within six weeks from Feb 21, when parliament's budget session started. With IANS inputs For Zee News's Updates, follow us on Twitter , Facebook, Google+, Pinterest First Published: Monday, March 18, 2013, 09:31 via Top Stories - Google News http://news.google.com/news/url?sa=t&fd=R&usg=AFQjCNF0cBBXbtmMQde8t22hWnDSY5IKOQ&url=http://zeenews.india.com/news/nation/anti-rape-bill-to-be-placed-in-parliament-tuesday_836107.html

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