Shakti Mills case: In Bombay HC, Centre defends death penalty for rape

Justifying the legislature’s decision to provide the death penalty for a repeat offence of rape, the Union government Wednesday told the Bombay High Court that rape laws had been amended in 2013 to introduce a powerful deterrent against such crimes.

“Rape not only affects the person but also the soul. The state not only has a duty to punish the offender but also deter future crimes,” the Union said while opposing a writ petition by convicts Vijay Jadhav, Kasim Bengali and Salim Ansari. 

The plea challenges the validity of Indian Penal Code section 376 (e), under which the trio had been granted death for gang-raping a photojournalist at the derelict Shakti Mills compound in Mahalaxmi in 2013. The plea said the section was introduced arbitrarily. 

But additional Solicitor General Anil Singh opposed the grounds raised by the petitioners saying that the amended section does not create a new category of offenders. And the constitutional power of commutation by the Governor/President is not taken away, as claimed by the petitioners.