Senate Body Approves Bill For Justice to Rape Victims
The bill said special courts will decide cases within 4 months and if convicted, the rapist could be sentenced to death, life imprisonment, or subjected to chemical castration
After National Assembly (NA), Senate Standing Committee on Law and Justice has recommended various amendments to “The Anti-Rape (Investigation and Trial) Bill, 2021 to curb the rising number of rape cases across the country.
NA passed the bill on June 10 and after the approval by the standing committee, it will now be tabled to the Senate for approval.
According to the bill, special courts are bound to decide cases within 4 months.
Senate Standing Committee Chairperson Ali Zafar convened a meeting in which the opposition leaders expressed concerns over the formation of special courts under the Anti-Rape (Investigation and Trail) Bill 2021.
The bill said that if convicted, the rapist could be sentenced to death, life imprisonment, or chemical castration.
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Moreover, the court has to decide the case within six months if a suspect appeals to a high court against a lower court’s decision while the accused will not be able to get bail during the trial period.
Last year in November, Prime Minister Imran Khan’s cabinet approved the Anti-Rape bill and on December 15, President Arif Alvi had issued an ordinance in this regard.
The decision was taken to ensure speedy trial of rape cases with women and children as victims and to allow chemical castration of those convicted of such offenses.
President issued a statement saying that under the ordinance, special courts would be established throughout the country for speedy trials of sexual assault suspects.
Further, the Senate committee was of the view that safety must be given to the rape victims and justice must be served.
