In December 2012, the government had introduced the Criminal Law Amendment Bill, 2012 in the Lok Sabha. The Bill sought to redefine the offence of rape and amend the penal laws in line with the recommendations of the law commission and the national commission for women. Following the Delhi gangrape incident, the government constituted a three-member committee headed by former chief justice JS Verma to suggest amendments to the criminal laws to ensure speedier justice and enhanced punishments in cases of extreme sexual assault. Upon the submission of the Verma committee report, the government notified the Criminal Law Amendment Ordinance, 2013 on February 3. A comparison of some of the key offences covered under the Bill, the committee report and the Criminal Law Amendment Ordinance are provided in the table attached below.

Kalra is an analyst at PRS Legislative Research.