Topic: Government policies and interventions for development in various sectors and issues arising out of their design and implementation.
2) Death penalty for cases of child rape is unwarranted, especially for a country like India. Discuss, in the light of the Criminal Law (Amendment) Ordinance, 2018(250 words)
Why this question
Recently the Union cabinet approved death penalty for cases of rape in which the victim is below certain age. However, earlier legislations, with similar aims and philosophy as the present bill, could not serve the purpose. The question is related to GS 2 syllabus- Government policies and interventions for development in various sectors and issues arising out of their design and implementation.
Key demand of the question
The question wants us to write in detail about the Criminal Law (Amendment) Ordinance, 2018; what are its salient provisions and why death penalty as enunciated by the ordinance is unwarranted.
Directive word
Discuss- we have to dig deeper into the issue involved here and write in length about the salient provisions of Criminal Law (Amendment) Ordinance, 2018. We have to discuss those provisions vis a vis death penalty recommendation and then justify why this is unwarranted in India. We have to justify by citing the reasons/ conditions in India.
Structure of the answer
Introduction- in the introduction what are the provisions/ laws/ mechanisms dealing with cases of child rapes. E.g The POCSO act and the Criminal Law (Amendment) Act, 2013 (CLAA).
Body- divide the body into 2 parts.
In one part, briefly enlist the salient provisions of Criminal Law (Amendment) Ordinance, 2018.
In the other part, discuss why the similar philosophy shared with earlier legislations is ill-conceived. E.g victim will likely be killed by the accused to save his life (LIFE VS LIFE). Infrastructure and manpower issues, no research backing, issues of age determination of victim etc.
Conclusion- briefly mention the knee jerk nature of response towards sexual crimes and briefly mention in 1-2 lines measures needed to tackle the situation (e.g sex education at all levels, aggressive advertisement campaigns to increase awareness and stimulate conversations about gender bias, everyday sexism, misogyny, stereotypes etc.).
