Calling the rapes of minors in Delhi this month “blood-curdling and horrific”, the Madras High Court on Sunday suggested castrating rapists would be an effective deterrent, saying it would yield "magical results" in preventing child abuse. Justice N Kirubakaran said that traditional laws are not stringent enough to get any desired results, reported the Times of India. He added that chemical castration was being enforced in several countries including the United States.

The judge was passing orders on a plea from a British national facing pedophile charges in Tamil Nadu. He said that cases of sex offences against children have been on the rise in spite of many penal provisions and the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences Act passed in 2012, adding that the number of such cases has increased from 38,172 in 2012 to 89,423 in 2014.

Three minor girls were raped in separate incidents in the national capital earlier this month, drawing widespread outrage. Statistics suggest that every week, an average of four children under the age of 12 are raped in the capital.