New Delhi: Differing radically from the political view, Justice Malimath Committee on criminal justice system reforms, which called for revamping the entire criminal justice system including the police prosecution and the judiciary, said on April 21 that it was against imposition of death penalty on rapists.

The two-volume report containing 158 recommendations also recommended that no arrest should be made by police for offences punishable with less than seven years' imprisonment.

"The Committee is not in favour of imposing death penalty for the offence of rape for in its opinion the rapist may kill the victim," the report submitted by Justice V S Malimath, a former Supreme Court judge, to Deputy Prime Minister L K Advani said.

Thanking Malimath and his colleagues for presenting the report in two years time, Advani said it would be government's endeavour that the recommendations in the report were expeditiously dealt with and implemented soon.

PTI