After the Centre passed a ordinance providing for death penalty to convicts in rape cases where the victims were less than 12 years of age, five men convicted of rape have been awarded the death sentence in Madhya Pradesh. Two men convicted of rape were sentenced to death in separate cases by courts in Gwalior and Katni districts on Friday.
The trial in the two cases was fast-tracked on the request of Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan and the death sentence was awarded to the rape convicts within a period of 30 days. Incidentally, the trial in the courts of Katni and Gwalior was heard by by two female additional session judges, Madhuri Raj Lal and Archana Singh, respectively.
In Katni, where an auto driver raped a five-year-old schoolchild, the case was filed on July 6 and the accused was arrested the next day. The trial started on July 12 and on Friday, the court awarded capital punishment to accused Rajkumar Kol. In a record period of 15 days, additional sessions judge of Katni Madhuri Raj Lal conducted the trial and ordered capital punishment.
In the Gwalior case, on June 20, Jitendra Kushwaha had raped a six-year-old girl after offering her chocolate at a wedding and taking her away to a jungle. Police registered an FIR the day after the incident and the court trial started on July 2. Within 25 days of the trial, additional sessions judge Archana Singh pronounced capital punishment against Kushwaha.
Last month, during a function of the Jabalpur High Court, Chouhan had asked Chief Justice of India Dipak Mishra to consider speeding up of trials of rape cases even at the level of higher judiciary.
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After the Union government passed a ordinance mandating capital punishment for people convicted in rape cases where the victim is below the age of 12, the death penalty has been awarded in a total of five cases in Madhya Pradesh.
A court in Sagar on July 7 has given death sentence to a middle-aged man for raping and murdering a nine-year-old girl. The trial was concluded quickly in a period of 46 days. On May 12, in Indore, a rape convict was sentenced to death by the trial court in 23 days. On June 19, in another case at Khurai, a 43-year-old man accused of raping a nine-year-old girl was given death penalty.