All rapists will not go to gallows; President Kovind has not signed any ordinance

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"The Modi government did what it was waiting for, now every rapist will be hanged, the President approved the ordinance (sic)," reads the English translation of the message.

Fact Check

The viral claims are misleading.

NewsMeter found that the claim has been doing rounds since 2019.

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We compared the viral posts in 2019 and that of the current viral posts. We found that the text of the claim was the same but this time it was shared without the picture of the president.

We then searched for reports related to the viral claim. However, there were no such reports that were published by the mainstream media.

NewsMeter through the keyword search found reports by The Indian Express, The Hindu, The Guardian, and Coastal digest published in 2018.

According to these reports, President Ram Nath Kovind had approved ordinance to impose the death penalty for those convicted of rape of girls under the age of 12.

Meanwhile, it was in 2013 when Criminal Law (Amendment) Act, was passed following an outcry against the rape and murder of Nirbhaya in December 2012.

Under the amended act, jail term was increased in most sexual assault cases and it also provided for the death penalty in rape cases that cause death of the victim or leaves her in a vegetative state.

We also found a report by The Hindu that had detailed information about the laws of rape and sexual crimes.

However, there was no mention anywhere that all rapists will be awarded a death sentence.

Evidently, the viral claim is misleading. President Ram Nath Kovind has approved an ordinance awarding the death penalty only for child rapists.