New Delhi:  The Supreme Court on Monday  asked the Government to consider stricter punishment for those persons convicted of raping and abusing children. Hearing a petition filed by the Supreme Court Women Lawyers Association (SCWLA), a division bench headed by Justice Dipak Misra, asked Parliamentarians to rethink about defining the term ‘child’ in the context of child rape. It mooted a stricter punishment against those persons convicted of the offence.

The court clarified that the observations made by it are only suggestions and the Central government is at liberty to accept or reject them. The petitioner had sought castration of child abuse convicts. The association, in its petition, contended that castration is the only effective deterrent for the heinous offence, of child rape. The demand for castration of rapists was earlier dismissed by the Justice J S Verma committee.