Govt to review laws related to sexual assault

New Delhi: Late last night, the government issued a notification for reviewing the present laws to provide speedier justice and enhanced punishment in cases of aggravated sexual assault. Announcing this, Home Minister Sushilkumar Shinde said government is serious about taking stringent action against those involved in the Delhi gangrape case at the earliest. “The notification reflects how serious the government is. I assure the country that we are serious,” he told reporters here. Shinde said police had to resort to lathicharge against protesting students today at India Gate and its surrounding areas when they indulged in violence in which 18-20 policemen were injured. One of the injured policeman is in critical condition, he said. [caption id=“attachment_567162” align=“alignleft” width=“380”]  Protests at India Gate in New Delhi. PTI[/caption] “Besides, Russian President Vladimir Putin is arriving in Delhi tomorrow. There should not be any such protest when he is visiting India. We are trying our best to cooperate with the students, but… No such picture should go out of the country for which India would come under criticism from the outside world. I again appeal to the students to maintain peace,” he said. After issuing the notification, the government also announced constitution of a three-member committee headed by former Chief Justice of India J S Verma The other members of the committee are Justice (retd) Leila Seth (former Chief Justice of Himachal Pradesh High Court) and former Solicitor General of India Gopal Subramanian. The panel will give recommendations for reviewing the laws related to sexual assault. It will look into possible amendments to criminal law for providing quicker trial and enhanced punishment for criminals accused of committing sexual assault of extreme nature against women. PTI