Bhopal: In a landmark move, Madhya Pradesh Assembly on Monday approved an amendment introducing death sentence for those who rape girls below 12 years of age.
Following a debate, the House passed the amendment unanimously by voice vote, first by any state in India.
The Amendment Bill was introduced in the House by state Law Minister Rampal Singh proposing death sentence as maximum punishment for those who rape or gangrape girls upto 12 years of age.
"We need stringent laws to prevent heinous crimes against women and also require moral and social awareness,” Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan said.
"The girls would be continued to be seen as burden unless their security is not ensured," he added.
To deter crimes against women, the amendment seeks to propose new sections of IPC-- 376 AA, 376 D and 493A.
Congress welcoming the move sought to ensure that these stringent laws are not misused to harass innocent men.
The bill will now be sent to the President for his assent after which it will become a law, state Home Minister Bhupendra Singh told reporters outside the Assembly.
"It was a historic day for Madhya Pradesh as the state Assembly, as per the wish of Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan, passed a bill making a provision to award capital punishment to those indulging in such crimes (raping girls aged 12 or younger)," Singh told PTI.
(With PTI inputs)
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