New Delhi [India], Apr. 24 (NT): Former Delhi High Court Chief Justice AP Shah, along with other child rights activists and lawyers in a press address at the Press Club of India expressed their discontent over the recent ordinance to amend the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act as ANI reported.

Addressing the reporters on Monday, Justice Shah urged everyone to throw out the ordinance and focus on reforming the criminal justice system.

He said that the enhancement of punishment to include death penalty is not only futile, but it will also have devastating consequences for children.

He added that Most of the times there are pressures of settling the matter within the family and the death penalty diverts attention from other problems in the criminal justice system such as poor inquiry and crime prevention.

These issues lifted up by a six-member bench chaired by Justice AP Shah, advocate Vrinda Grover, Anuja Gupta from RAHI Foundation, Bharti Ali of HAQ and including child rights activists.

Worth mention here the Centre on April 21 passed the ordinance to the amendment in the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act to award death sentence to the rapists of children below the age of 12. (NT)