"It was a unanimous suggestion of even women leaders who have been fighting for the cause for decades. Even the current trend is against death penalty," he said.
He said when a brutal rape ends up in death, Section 302 (murder) will be automatically applicable to the accused and so the room for capital punishment was still there.
Asked about his recommendations on failure of the command structure, Justice Verma said it was necessary because if higher officers can execute their responsibility properly, many crimes can be avoided.
On whether the committee tried to get political profile by giving certain political recommendations, he said, "We are not concerned about profile which local politicians might think.
"But we comprehended the legitimate scope of our limit. That is what we have done. And electoral laws are important because ultimately that affects the true representations. And unless there is true representation, the constitutional guarantees can not be fulfilled."
Hitting out at political and religious leaders for making controversial comments on women, the committee has recommended framing laws to disqualify politicians who issue statements "reinforcing gender bias".
