This is an Amendment Act.
The Criminal Law (Amendment) Act, 2018 (Act 22 of 2018) amended the Indian Penal Code, 1860, the Code of Criminal Procedure, 1973, the Indian Evidence Act, 1872, and the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act, 2012.
Key Highlights:
- Introduced the death penalty as a maximum punishment for the rape of a girl under the age of 12 years (Section 376DB and Section 376E of IPC).
- Prescribed a minimum punishment of 20 years rigorous imprisonment or imprisonment for life (meaning remainder of natural life) for gang rape of a girl under 12 or 16 years.
- Mandated that investigation in rape cases must be completed within 2 months (Section 173(2) of CrPC) and appeals must be disposed of within 6 months.
- Prohibited anticipatory bail for persons accused of rape of a girl under 16 or 12 years (Section 438 of CrPC).
The substantive amendments have been directly incorporated into the text of the primary acts (IPC, CrPC, IEA, and POCSO Act).