Overview
- NCW, which disclosed Friday it will soon send formal advice to the Centre, is calling for a total bar on parole for those convicted of rape, aggravated sexual assault, and serious offences under the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences law.
- The package urges special fast-track trial courts and fixed timelines for testing evidence, recording witness statements, and completing investigations.
- It presses state police to keep closer watch on habitual offenders with tools like bonds for good conduct and regular reporting to senior officers.
- The panel says it may also seek changes to prison and parole rules so these crimes are ineligible for temporary release, with added checks such as mandatory risk assessments, stronger verification, electronic monitoring, and consultation with survivors before any release.
- The push was prompted by the Pune district case of a four-year-old’s rape and killing by a 65-year-old with a prior POCSO conviction, and the commission’s steps are recommendations to the government rather than changes already in force.