Child Rapists Should Not Be Allowed To File Mercy Pleas : President Ram Nath Kovind

Child Rapists Should Not Be Allowed To File Mercy Pleas : President Ram Nath Kovind

Guwahati: Expressing concern on the brutal rape cases which have left the nation shaken, President Ram Nath Kovind said that rape convicts under the POCSO (Protection of Children from Sexual Offences) Act should not be allowed to file mercy petition.

President Kovind was addressing a gathering at the National Convention on Empowerment of Women for Social Transformation in Rajasthan’s Sirohi amid nationwide outrage over multiple cases of rape and murder.

Citing the acts as ‘demonic’, President Kovind said there should be no mercy for rapists convicted under POCSO Act.

Highlighting the issues of women's safety, the President advocated that the child rapists should not have the right to file mercy petition. Parliament should review mercy petitions."

His statement comes after the Hyderabad ‘encounter’, where Cyberabad cops killed all four accused in the rape and murder of a veterinarian, which evoked widespread reaction across the country.

President Kovind underscored the importance of parents making their male child learn how to respect a woman.

The Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) has sent the recommendation of the Delhi government to President Kovind rejecting the mercy plea of one of the convicts in the 2012 Nirbhaya gang-rape case.

The POCSO Act was amended by the Parliament in August this year to include the death penalty in cases of aggravated penetrative sexual assault by a person in a position of authority or for aggravated sexual assault which results in the death of a child.

However, it is believed that the death penalty would not reduce crimes, but lessen the number of reported cases of a sexual offense against children since 94 percent of the accused are close relatives of the victims in child sexual abuse cases.

While Police have been lauded for shooting dead all four accused on Friday morning, the National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) has taken cognizance of the incident and ordered an inquiry into the ‘encounter.

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