Asaduddin Owaisi says that death penalty cannot be justified on the grounds of retribution

MIM leader Asaduddin Owaisi on Monday opposed the Criminal Law Amendment Bill. He said if it was passed India will become like Saudi Arabia, Iran and China and even Sharia might follow.

“Good luck to you. Sharia is on the way. An MLA has said that a mother of three can be raped. The legislators here stood for the perpetrators of crime. What we require is change in the mindset of men.

The equation of power which men feel they enjoy should change. The government is supporting the perpetrators of child rape and all other efforts are mere eyewash,” he said.

Mr Owaisi quoted a court ruling saying that death penalty cannot be justified on



the grounds of retribution, proposition or deterrence.  “Let me remind the government what was said by Delhi High court judge Justice Geeta Mittal. She had asked the government whether it knew what the root cause of rape was. Was any scientific study done to ascertain whether death penalty will prove to be a deterrent for rapist? 

How many victims will be left alive when the punishment for rape and murder are the same? This was the view of the judge,” he said.

Even the Justice Verma committee did not recommend death penalty for rape. The Law Commission also favours death penalty only for terror, he said.