Cabinet divided over anti-rape bill

As differences of opinion prevailed among ministers at a special cabinet meeting called to pass the bill, the government decided to refer the legislation to a Group of Ministers (GoM) to resolve the issue.



“The GoM meetings will be held soon. We are confident that the issue will be resolved by Thursday. We will pass the bill by March 22,” Shinde told reporters.

According to informed sources, the points of disagreement over the bill relate to provisions making it gender neutral, lowering the age of juvenile criminals from 18 to 16 besides provisions prescribing punishment for stalking and voyeurism.