Cabinet clears ordinance on crimes against women

The Cabinet on Friday cleared a decision to promulgate an ordinance for amending the criminal law with a focus on crimes against women, providing punishment up to the entire life of a convict in case of rape, whose terminology has been expanded to “sexual assault”. Being brought against the backdrop of the gangrape and brutal assault of a 23-year-old girl in Delhi in December, the ordinance entails changes in the criminal law by amending the Indian Penal Code (IPC), Code of Criminal Procedure and the Evidence Act.The government will now recommend to President Pranab Mukherjee to promulgate the ordinance, which will make the law more women-friendly. The amendments have been made in tune with the recommendations of the Justice J S Verma Committee, which was formed in the wake of the gangrape incident.