Stalin and the Governor clashed over the issue of the Tamil Nadu anthem

With the Governor's endorsement, the Tamil Nadu government is ready to send the bill to the President of India for it to be signed into law in the state.

In a bold step towards suppressing women crimes, the Governor of Tamil Nadu RN Ravi endorsed the bills he had previously opposed on Thursday. He endorsed the recent amendments in The Tamil Nadu assembly concerning stricter penalties for specific crimes.

The bills were specifically designed to increase the penalties and prosecution of sexual predators involving children and women and people abusing them through cyber and other electronic means.

The Criminal Laws Bill seeks to increase the minimum sentence for a convicted rapist from ten years to fourteen years of rigorous imprisonment. The proposal adds that if the convict is a police officer, the sentence should be increased to twenty years. If the case involved a child under the age of twelve, the minimum sentence should be life imprisonment, and the maximum should be the death penalty.

Once the Governor assents to the bill, the Tamil Nadu Government is in plans to send it to the President of India for it to be implemented in the state.

Last week, Chief Minister MK Stalin announced the creation of special courts to tackle sexual crimes against women. The aim is to take up such cases on a priority basis. As he was responding to the address delivered by Governor RN Ravi in the Assembly on Saturday, CM Stalin said that the special courts will be in Madura, Tirunelveli, Coimbatore, Salem, Tiruchy, Chennai and surrounding areas.

To strengthen the attempt of addressing crimes against women in the state, he also mentioned that there will be special committees set up in all the districts to allow for faster completion of investigations and the ensuing trials.