Parliament on Thursday approved a bill that allows capital punishment for aggravated sexual assault on a child, along with tougher punishment for other crimes against minors, after the Lok Sabha passed it. The Rajya Sabha had already cleared this 2019 amendment to the POCSO law on July 29. The Lok Sabha also passed a bill to amend the arbitration law.

The Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Amendment Bill was to be taken up in the Rajya Sabha on Friday, and the BJP issued a whip asking all its MPs to be present.

What the minister said

Women and Child Development Minister Smriti Irani, who piloted the bill, said it makes offences against children gender neutral and defines child pornography so that it can be punished. She said it would give added legal protection to 43 crore children, or 39 per cent of the population, regardless of whether they are boys or girls, and that the death penalty was meant for the rarest of rare cases.

• She expressed concern that 5,000 people had followed one child pornography site.
• Under the Nirbhaya Fund, 1023 fast-track courts are to be set up, and 18 state governments are already on board.
• A national database of sexual offence cases has been started, with about 6.2 lakh cases recorded.
• The CBSE will run awareness programmes in schools about good and bad touch, and more than 40,000 teachers will be trained.
• A juvenile could face the death penalty only if above 16 and if the juvenile justice board finds an adult mindset.

Irani said the bill was about protecting India’s future rather than vote-bank politics. Apparently referring to Ramya Haridas, the Congress MP who had brought up the Unnao case, she said the issue should not be politicised for personal gain.

Views from across the House

Members across parties supported the changes, though some wanted the bill sent to a standing or select committee because it introduces the death penalty. Su Thirunavukkarasar of the Congress made that case, as did Kanimozhi of the DMK, who warned that harsher punishment could discourage reporting. TMC’s Satabdi Roy questioned whether the death penalty would deter offenders.

Rita Bahuguna Joshi, Nishikant Dubey and Pritam Munde of the BJP backed the bill, with Munde stressing rehabilitation of victims. JD(U)’s Rajiv Ranjan Singh called for special courts and speedy trials, citing a survey that showed a 500 per cent rise in such cases. The Shiv Sena’s Vinayak Raut and the BSP’s Danish Ali also supported it, though Ali opposed death for juveniles. Hasnain Masoodi of the NC said the law addressed 10 per cent of victims and prevention was needed for the other 90 per cent. Kalyan Banerjee of the AITC raised concern about victims’ identities leaking in the media.

Presiding over the House, BJD’s Bhartruhari Mahtab noted that the Hindi version used the word “balakon”, meaning boys; Irani said the government’s legislative department had vetted the text.

See also: Bharatiya Janata Party and Lok Sabha members.

Originally published on 2 August 2019. Rewritten on 9 October 2026.

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