Rajya Sabha passed the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (Amendment) Bill, 2019, yesterday, i.e. 24-07-2019 with a death penalty provision for committing sexual crimes against children.
As reported by All India Radio, “Bill provides that those who use a child for pornographic purposes should be punished with imprisonment up to five years and a fine. However, in the event of second or subsequent conviction, the punishment would be up to seven years and fine.
The Bill defines child pornography as any visual depiction of sexually explicit conduct involving a child including photographs, video, digital or computer-generated image indistinguishable from an actual child.
According to the amendment bill, those committing penetrative sexual assaults on a child below 16 years of age would be punished with imprisonment up to 20 years, which might extend to life imprisonment as well as fine.
In case of aggravated penetrative sexual assault, the bill increases the minimum punishment from ten years to 20 years, and the maximum punishment to death penalty.”
[Source: All India Radio]