All-party meet on anti-rape Bill fails to reach consensus

NEW DELHI: An all-party meeting convened by the government today failed to reach a consensus on the anti-rape Bill with leaders expressing reservations on the age of consent for sex and demanding safeguards against misuse of the proposed law.

"Largely there is consensus on the intent and the content of the Bill, except that there are concerns about misuse and abuse of some of the provisions of the Bill," Parliamentary Affairs Minister Kamal Nath told reporters here after the meeting.

BJP, SP and other parties demanded that the age of consent for sex be 18 years and not 16 as envisaged in the Ordinance. They contended that since the age of marriage is 18 years, the age of consent should be the same.

Other parties, however, said pre-marital sex is a reality and the age of consent should be 16 years.

Most parties were of the view that the clauses about stalking and voyeurism be tweaked further to prevent misuse. There should be sufficient safeguards against filing of false cases by political opponents and those wanting to settle scores, they said.

With the meeting remaining inconclusive, another round will be held later today to sort out the differences.

Kamal Nath said the government is ready to bring necessary official amendments in the Bill and ensure its smooth passage.

The government suggested in the meeting that the introduction, discussion and passage of the Bill be done on the same day.

Sources said the Bill is likely to come up tomorrow in Lok Sabha.

The Ordinance lapses on April 4 and the government and most parties are of the view that the Bill be passed with suitable changes before the Budget Session goes into recess on March 22.

The age of consent in Ordinance was 18 and it was brought down to 16 in the proposed Criminal Law (Amendment) Bill, 2013.