Death penalty for child rape may not mean better justice, data shows

About 90 per cent of child rape cases were pending trial in India in 2016, no more than 28 per cent of such cases ended in conviction, and there is a 20-year backlog in bringing cases to trial, the latest available national crime data show.

These data indicate the government move to prioritise a change to legislation that allows courts to grant the death penalty will not bring quicker or better justice because there is no plan to address conviction failures and court delays.

No more than 28 per cent of child rapes registered end in convictions, and there is a 20-year backlog of child-sex-abuse related court cases, according to the National Crime Records Bureau (NCRB), but the government has decided to add further legislation, permitting courts to grant the death penalty to those convicted of raping children below 12 years of age.

The new ordinance also adds a minimum punishment of 20 years to anyone who rapes a woman below 16.