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The government on Sunday night issued a notification for reviewing the present laws to provide speedier justice and enhanced punishment in cases of aggravated sexual assault.
Announcing this, Home Minister Sushilkumar Shinde said the government is serious about taking stringent action against those involved in the Delhi gangrape case at the earliest.
"The notification reflects how serious the government is. I assure the country that we are serious," he told reporters.
Shinde said the police had to resort to lathicharge against protesting students at India Gate and its surrounding areas when they indulged in violence in which several policemen were injured.
One of the injured policeman was in a critical condition, he said.
"Besides, Russian President Vladimir Putin is arriving in Delhi. There should not be any such protest when he is visiting India. We are trying our best to cooperate with the students, but no such picture should go out of the country for which India would come under criticism from the outside world. I again appeal to the students to maintain peace," he said.
After issuing the notification, the government also announced constitution of a three-member committee headed by former chief justice of India J S Verma
The other members of the committee are justice (retired) Leila Seth (former chief justice of Himachal Pradesh high court) and former solicitor general of India Gopal Subramanian.
The panel will give recommendations for reviewing the laws related to sexual assault.
It will look into possible amendments to criminal law for providing quicker trial and enhanced punishment for criminals accused of committing sexual assault of extreme nature against women.