Context:

• The Lok Sabha has passed the Criminal Law (Amendment) Bill 2018 which replaces the Criminal Law (Amendment) Ordinance promulgated on April 21 this year.
• The bill stipulates stringent punishment for perpetrators of rape, particularly of girls below 12 years and the death sentence has been provided for rapists of girls under 12 years.
• In case of rape of a girl under 16 years, the minimum punishment has been increased from 10 to 20 years, extendable to life imprisonment.
• The punishment for the gangrape of a girl below 16 years will invariably be imprisonment for the rest of life of the convict. The measure also provides for speedy investigations and trial.
• The time limit for the investigation of all cases of rape has been prescribed, which has to be mandatorily completed within two months.
• The deadline for the completion of the trial in all rape cases will be two months.
• A six-month time limit for the disposal of appeals in rape cases has also been prescribed
• It has also been prescribed that a court has to give notice of 15 days to a public prosecutor and the representative of the victim before deciding on bail applications in case of rape of a girl under 16 years of age.